PaddleHeads Announce Opening Day Roster Tuesday

Oakland, CA - After a competitive week of Spring Training, the Missoula PaddleHeads are heading into Opening Night on Tuesday with their 2026 roster. This roster features a lot of new names on the 25 man roster. Of those players, 18 are new to the PaddleHeads organization. The 7 players that did return were all key parts of the team last season, when Missoula made its 5th consecutive appearance in the Pioneer League Playoffs. A combination of promising young talent mixed with proven veterans will now look for success once again in 2026. 

The PaddleHeads roster features 13 pitchers and 12 position players overall. 4 pitchers are back from the 2025 roster with 3 position players back into the fold from a season ago. Along with these familiar names this roster also features a large number of intriguing prospects that earned their way onto the Opening Day roster from their performance in a competitive Spring Training. The PaddleHeads started camp with 37 players fighting for roster positions. Now that the dust from camp has settled it is clear that the organization feels confident in the players they have brought in. 

Manager Michael Schlact is back for his 6th season in the dugout with the PaddleHeads this season. The former PBL Manager of the Year took on the challenge of evaluating a large pool of talent this Spring in hopes of building another playoff contender. This team may have a different look compared to years in the past, but Schlact is excited to see what this group can do. 

"We're super excited about this roster because it will showcase a very diverse talent pool of baseball players," Schlact said.  "We feel like a lot of the guys can play many different positions and impact the game in a lot of ways. This is the first time since I've been here that we've had a group of 1st year guys this big. I haven't seen a group of rookies this large show this type of energy and grit right away. They're playing and acting like they have been around pro ball for 5 years. It's been impressive to watch." 

A new player in the fold that will be one to watch this season for the PaddleHeads will be rookie 1st baseman Tyler Stone. The Nebraska product had strong at-bats throughout Spring Training backing up a strong college resume from his time with the Huskers'. The home runs he hit during camp may be what stole headlines, but there are a lot more things that are impressive about the Arizona native in the eyes of Schlact. 

""The scouting report we got on him was that the power was there but he was seen more as a pure hitter," Schlact said. "Obviously we saw the power on the first day of camp when he launched a 450 foot homer. But his ability to see the ball and the strike zone awareness he has is very impressive. He's been using the entire field in his at-bats. Even his outs have been hit hard. He's a poised hitter, he looks like he knows what he's doing up there."

On the mound Missoula returns familiar names like Franchise Player Mark Timmins who is back for his 5th season in a PaddleHeads uniform. He is joined by PBL All-Stars Ryan Wentz, and Brandan Beard. These established arms mixed with impressive rookies will look to keep things simple on the mound in search of finding success. Schlact also feels this group has a chance to mesh together as a unit to find success.

"On the pitching side we have a group of arms that are going to be out getters regardless of the situation and they are a competitive group," Schlact said. "To go along with our returners, we have some new guys on the mound that are competing hard and have been showing impressive stuff. The ability to attack a professional hitter is a skillset you either have or you don't and a lot of these guys have shown they belong. I'm excited to see how this group improves and helps the club." 

The 96-game grind that is the PBL season now looms on the horizon. The PaddleHeads will open the season with a 12-game road trip that begins Tuesday evening. The first team on the schedule will be a challenge taking on the defending League Champion Oakland Ballers. In the eyes of Schlact, this is an ideal way to open the season. 

"Oakland has been phenomenal since entering our league," Schlact said. "Aaron Miles does a great job over there and has put together a playoff team the last 2 seasons. I wouldn't want to start the year out any other way. A manager in Indy Ball wants to know what he has in his group as quickly as possible seeing them in live action. This will be a wonderful test to figure that out."

The PaddleHeads kick off their 2026 season on Tuesday evening in the opening game of a 3-game set with the Ballers. First pitch from the Bay Area is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. Pacific. Get locked in with every pitch with the live radio broadcast on ESPN Missoula 102.9 F.M.