CCW Spring traning preview

The dust has settled from Draft Night, the 7 Circle City Wiffle Ball teams are assembled, and Spring has finally begun to spring in Indianapolis. All of this can only mean one thing - it’s Wiffle Ball season.

Opening Day in CCW is on the calendar for a little over a month from now, but before then, the league has 3 weekends of Spring Training action. While these games won’t count, and may not even be played in full assembled squads, they’ll provide crucial opportunities for new and returning players to audition for their roles in the regular season, and for the league to see how they look coming into 2026.

With Spring Training starting this weekend, we’ll review the full roster for each team in the league, pick one player on each team worth watching in the exhibition games, and discuss the biggest question for each team that could be answered in the Spring. 

Short Shorts

Roster:
Brayden Scott
Brendan Dudas
Dustin Dowden
Cody House
Jared Gray
Kevin Dudas

Player to Watch: Jared Gray
The Shorts arrive this Spring looking to repeat their 2025 CCW championship, without league ace Myc Witty in tow. Instead, they’ll roll out what appears to be an incredibly balanced roster - with one of the best one-two punches on the mound in Scott and Dowden, and a potentially high-powered offense led by Dudas and House. 

They also bring along one of the biggest potential upside plays in the league in Jared Gray. Gray was the rookie selected the highest in the league draft, rumored to bring a potential two-way impact. If he’s able to establish himself as another strong arm behind co-aces Scott and Dowden, and if he can hit his way into the top half of the Shorts’ lineup, Gray could be what makes this team a true title contender. If he doesn’t hit the ground running, though, the Shorts could be thin both in the back of the rotation and the back of the lineup. 

Biggest Question: How many games will Dowden make it to?
This is a question that is not likely to be answered in the Spring, with Dowden being unlikely to prioritize attendance in these exhibitions if he is limited in total availability throughout the season. That said, if he can make an appearance a few times and assure his teammates that he can be relied on, it will help to soften any fears that Scott, Dudas, and co. have about the ace’s availability. 

8 Balls

Roster:
Reid Werner
Dustin Laugel
Justin Swingler
Keegan Caughey
Adam Watson
Alec Berninger

Player to Watch: Justin Swingler
The 8 Balls may have more question marks on paper than any other team in the league this year, with only Werner and role-player Alec Berninger returning from last season’s runner-up squad. Swingler is likely to swing (pun intended) their season in one direction or the other based on his two-way play. His rookie season was nothing to write home about, but Swing was picked fairly high in the draft despite it, with Werner hoping for a CCW breakout. If Swingler shows up this Spring looking like he may have rediscovered his pre-CCW form, this team’s floor raises significantly. If his 2026 looks more like his 2025, this team may be hurting for impact by players not named Reid Werner. 

Biggest Question: Where does the offense come from? 
The shortest and likeliest answer to this question is - “from Reid”. But, one man can only do so much in a wiffle ball lineup. After Werner is a series of offensive question marks. We’ve already covered Swingler’s potential to swing the lineup, and they’ll be needing his bat to make this a competitive offensive team. Laugel has yet to do much offensively in CCW, but he also has the potential to do so. Keegan is a great bat-to-ball guy, but his power and speed have unfortunately left him. This team needs a couple of these guys to have career years to be a top-half offensive team. 

Moonshots

Roster:
Will Smithey
Thomas Hopkins
Alec Buchman
Eric Starke
Josh Hart
Kent Nims

Player to Watch: Alec Buchman
The early returns from the CCW draft had the Moonshots as having the most successful night, as the early team to beat. The ‘Shots do have arguably the highest upside in the league, but they also profile with a team with lots of risk in the picture. Smithey may not be around this summer as frequently as years past; Hopkins may also be less available than usual; Starke is returning after several years away; and Buchman is coming off a disappointing 2025. 

Of all of those players, Buch has the highest ceiling and will likely be the canary in the coal mine for this team’s success. If Buchman is even close to approaching his past highs, then this team has a terrifying front-two in the rotation. Again, even if he doesn’t repeat his Pitcher of the Year level past performances, all he has to do is be a top 10 pitcher in the league for him to be a huge boost to the team - everything beyond that is gravy. But, if injury or rust continues to hamper him, this team might be desperate for someone other than Will to take the ball. 

Biggest Question: Will any other bats step up?
Not unlike the 8 Balls, the Moonshots are going to be searching for offense in the back half of their lineup. Smithey will compete for a Silver Slugger, and Hopkins will be a top 10-15 bat in the league, but after that is a potential black hole. Smithey will be hoping for a strong season from Josh Hart, who swings and misses a lot, but puts a high percentage of balls he does connect with over the left field fence. Nims didn’t have many opportunities in his rookie year with the bat, but he should have plenty in this lineup. Starke and Buchman have been a lot more valuable from the mound than with the bat in their careers, but may be forced to get plenty of at-bats this season, too. 

Hounds

Roster:
Myc Witty
Coby Taylor
Dalton Lewis
Mitch Unversaw
Byron Young
Ethan New


Player to Watch: Byron Young
Any team headlined by Myc Witty should at this point be the odds-on title favorites, after Witty’s teams have now won 4 consecutive championships. He’s surrounded by a surprisingly balanced roster, despite picking last in the draft, but on paper, they look one player short. Young may be that player. After struggling both with the bat and on the mound in his rookie season, reports are that he’s taken a huge step forward this offseason. If he’s able to be a reliable third arm on this team behind Witty and DLewy, and slot into the back of the lineup and produce, suddenly this team looks pretty complete. 

Biggest Question: Will they get full seasons from Taylor and Unversaw? 
Both Coby Taylor and Mitch Unversaw are potential high-impact, all-league talents. The only thing holding them back is their consistency. Both guys, in recent seasons, have just sneaked into playoff eligibility. And, unsurprisingly, they tend to start slow and then hit a stride right as the season is ending - and while that is the most important time to get going, I can’t help but wonder if they’d hit that stride earlier if they got more early-season at-bats. If both guys are giving close to full seasons of value, then this team’s lineup looks like a potent, well-balanced one - but when either or both of them are absent, they’ll be relying on unproven quantities to perform beyond expectation. 

Outlaws

Roster:
Mitch Buis
Alex Gurtcheff
Cade Luker
Jay Wilsey
Ian Garavalia
Max Lowry

Player to Watch: Ian Garavalia
Ian is the player most likely to show up this Spring, claiming to be “in the best shape of his life,” and it actually being true. After a promising but uneven and ultimately disappointing 2025 performance, he’ll look to bounce back this season with the Outlaws. This team, as we’ll unpack below, is desperate for a clear number two arm to emerge, and an improved Garavalia may be the likeliest candidate. If he shows up this Spring looking solid, manager Buis may be able to breathe easier come the regular season. 

Biggest Question: Which arm(s) will step up?
Mitch Buis is an established ace - but he’s far more likely to be the 5th-7th best pitcher in the league than he is to be 1st-4th. So, the Outlaws will likely enter most ace-on-ace matchups as the underdogs. After Buis, they have loads of depth - all of Gurtcheff, Garavalia, Wilsey, and even Luker can throw productive innings. But this team needs at least one of those guys to step up and be more than productive. They’ll need to be the favorites in most matchups where the opposing team’s ace isn’t on the mound to reach their ceiling. Their depth gives them the wiggle room to really try stuff out - maybe we’ll even see a planned piggyback approach where they let two guys go max effort for 2-3 innings each - but one way or another, they’ll need to establish winning plans with these guys on the mound. 

Gold Socks

Roster:
Austin Alles
Rudy Lyon
Connor Young
Dalsen Murdock
Tristan Dudas
Colt Cantrell

Player to Watch: Rudy Lyon
One of the two brand new franchises to CCW, the Gold Socks, led by Austin Alles, entered the Spring with one of the highest-floor, most balanced rosters in the league. While most of the other names on this list have been high upside, less established guys, or ones returning from absence, Rudy marks a different type of player to keep an eye on. Rudy is among the most established two-way players in CCW, but is coming off an uncharacteristically disappointing 2025. On top of that, he’s rumored to again be less than at 100% health entering the Spring. Rudy may slow-play the Spring to get healthy, which may be the smartest choice, but can’t give Alles and co. much confidence going into the season. If he does suit up, it’s worth watching if he looks like his old self again or more like the 2025 version of himself. 

Biggest Question: Can this team unlock its players’ potential? 
As teased above, this team has a ridiculous floor. Its top 3 guys project to be their top 3 pitchers and hitters - something that no other team can claim. All 3 - Alles, Lyon, and Connor Young - also have proven potential to be top 5-10 bats, and top 10 arms, as well. If all of them hit on those high-percentile outcomes, this team will be a problem. But, with so much riding on those 3 guys alone, if only one of them underperforms, their chances will plummet with them. If 2 or more do, then you can count them out. There are, of course, other guys on the squad, but none of them project to be factors on the mound really at all, and should hit after those top guys. Clock the vibes of this group early - if things go south and players start to press, it could spell disaster for the team. 

Ligers

Roster:
Aidan Palmer
Holden Palmer
Dylan Jones
Connor Smith
Nolan Karwoski
Myles Caudill

Player to Watch: Connor Smith
Stop me if you’ve heard this before - Connor Smith is a hotly discussed breakout candidate. It has been one of the major stories leading to the draft, and Aidan Palmer and his newly minted Ligers franchise solidified it by taking Smith early in the third round. Connor is a legitimate problem in big barrel wiffle ball, but the success has yet to follow into CCW play. Aidan will be hoping for good early returns this Spring - if Connor comes out swinging a hot bat in exhibition play, that may be the confidence booster he needs to break out this season. 

Biggest Question: Will the Palmer pitching duo be elite, or just good? 
Aidan and Holden Palmer are reunited again this season, hoping to form a true two-headed monster at the top of the rotation. Both guys have the proven ability to be top 4 or 5 pitchers in the league, and for this team to be successful, they’ll need to be. But last season, both of the duo had down years by their standards. If both Aidan and Holden come out this Spring looking nasty, then it’s high-alert time for the rest of the league, knowing that either can dominate a game any given night. 

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CCW Spring Training kicks off Sunday, April 12, before the regular season gets rolling on May 3.

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