The AppleSox are going back to the future with the latest addition to their roster. The University of Portland is sending right-handed pitcher Owen Jones, who is returning to the AppleSox after playing for the team in 2008, and left-handed pitcher Keeler Brynteson.

“We have had a lot of players from the University of Portland over the years and it is a relationship we really value,” said AppleSox head coach Ed Knaggs. “The program has really done well the last few years and we are excited about the caliber of the pitchers they are sending us this summer.”

UCLA will once again be one of the AppleSox top suppliers of young talent by sending four players to join the team in 2011. Freshman infielder Pat Valaika, along with three high school recruits – right-handed pitcher Joe Ross, infielder Tyler Goeddel, and outfielder Eric Snyder – are set to spend their summer in Wenatchee.

“The relationship with UCLA head coach John Savage goes back to when he was an assistant at USC,” said Knaggs. “He does us a favor each season with the type of players he sends us.”

The road to the big leagues ran through Paul Thomas Sr. Field for three players who have donned a MLB uniform. AppleSox radio broadcaster Chris King caught up with the three former AppleSox players who have reached the major leagues and talked with them about their time with the AppleSox.

Click on the link below to listen to each interview and hear their memories of playing in Wenatchee.

The strong connection between the AppleSox and University of Hawaii continues with the Warriors sending players to Wenatchee for the eighth straight season. The 2011 edition of the AppleSox will feature Hawaii outfielder Breland Almadova and infielder Conner George.

“We’ve had a lot of success with players from their program and they are always one of the first schools that call us every year,” said AppleSox head coach Ed Knaggs. “They do a lot of recruiting in the northwest and often times they have players from our part of the country to send us.”

The AppleSox will once again include players from Oregon State University as three Beavers are set to play in Wenatchee this summer. OSU is sending outfielder Ryan Barnes, right-handed pitcher Cole Baylis, and right-handed pitcher Glenn Wallace to join the AppleSox.

“We love our relationship with OSU and it goes back a long time,” said AppleSox head coach Ed Knaggs. “They are always well-coached players who are good team guys.”

For the third straight season the AppleSox will feature a group of talented young players from the University of California-Irvine. The Anteaters are sending a pair of freshmen, left-handed pitcher Tyler Abbott and right-handed pitcher Phillip Ferragamo to join the AppleSox this summer.

“Like many of our players they are coming here because of our history with the coach and their program,” said Knaggs, who played for UC Irvine head coach Mike Gillespie at the College of the Canyons in Valencia, CA. “This year it worked out that they wanted to send us two young pitchers. They have been really happy with the improvement their pitchers have made here in the past and we are excited to have them.”

The AppleSox will feature a new hat design when the players take the field for the 2011 season. In a closely contested race the AppleSox alternate “Sox” logo on a red crown and a blue bill won the weeklong online fan poll with 41.7% of the vote. The AppleSox current hat featuring the diamond logo on a blue crown and red bill finished in second place with 37.3% of the vote. The AppleSox alternate “Sox” logo on a blue crown and red bill finished in third place with 21% of the vote.

“I’m really excited to have a red hat and I think it’s going to be a very neat look,” said AppleSox head coach Ed Knaggs. “I went online and voted each day just like the fans and I’m happy to say I agree with their choice.”

The two-time defending West Coast League Champion Wenatchee AppleSox will have four Gonzaga Bulldogs joining the team in 2011. Gonzaga is sending outfielder Payden Cawley Lamb, right-handed pitcher David Bigelow, right-handed pitcher Aaron Brooks, and infielder Thomas Henderson to play for the AppleSox this summer.

“We have a great tradition of Gonzaga players coming through our program,” said AppleSox head coach Ed Knaggs, who spent seven years as a Gonzaga assistant coach. “It’s one of the schools that we always get the full allotment of four players from.”

The AppleSox were honored with an achievement award at the annual Northwest Baseball Coaches Convention. The award was presented to AppleSox head coach Ed Knaggs at the convention’s “Walk of Champions" luncheon.

“It is always nice to be recognized. The award is a reflection on the whole AppleSox organization from our owners, players, coaches, fans, and host families,” said Knaggs.

Former AppleSox assistant coach Fletcher Vynne has graduated with honors from the U.S. Naval Officer Candidate School in Newport, R.I.

Vynne graduated in early December and is now attending Naval Flight School in Pensacola, FL. The popular coach joined the military after the AppleSox season wrapped up last summer.