THREE BULLDOGS HEADING TO WENATCHEE IN 2026
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Smith Slye - smith.slye@wsu.edu
Three Bulldogs heading to Wenatchee in 2026
In 2026, the Wenatchee AppleSox are opening their doors to three Gonzaga Bulldogs. All three will be making their first appearance in an AppleSox jersey after this coming season in Spokane. Landon White, Ryder Young and Kainoa Santiago are all making the two and a half hour drive west to Wenatchee for the 2026 summer season.
In addition to being first-time AppleSox, all three are joining the Zags for the first time this year. Whether it is a freshman coming off a state championship run, a sophomore who batted nearly 0.500 in JUCO, or a junior with a career 1.214 OPS, both the Zags and Sox are adding quality talent to the diamond.
With the pleasantries out of the way, let’s dive into these three Bulldogs…
Landon White - Sophomore - 3B
In just his first year of JUCO, White proved why he deserved the call-up to Spokane. With Mt. San Antonio College in California, the now sophomore third baseman absolutely mashed the baseball.
116 hits, 33 doubles, seven home runs, 75 RBI’s, a 0.481 average, and a 1.242 OPS in 51 games made White stand out on the Mounties roster.
Those numbers at the dish made him the 3C2A JUCO player of the Year for California. That honor is mainly due to his ranking first in the conference for doubles, second for hits, seventh for RBI’s, and ninth for batting average.
How he performs with the Zags is still up in the air. Gonzaga is retaining infielders Mikey Bell and Hudson Shupe, who both were lethal at the plate last year. However, they lost three members of the infield, opening the door for White to shine at the corner infield slot.
Safe to say, White is excited to get to work in Spokane.
“I chose Gonzaga due to their academic prestige and how consistently well their baseball program develops players for the next level,” White said in a statement to Gonzaga Athletics.
Ryder Young - Junior - UTL
As impressive as White was in one year of JUCO, Young made his mark over two years at Chaffey College.
A career 0.411 average, 1.214 OPS, 146 hits, 103 RBI’s, 107 runs, 36 doubles, and 23 home runs constituted his tenure with the Chaffey Panthers. With those stats, Young broke program records for home runs, doubles, RBIs, and runs.
What stood out about his two-year stint at Chaffey was his year-over-year growth. 30 more hits, 29 more RBI’s, nine more homers, and two more doubles. He managed to one-up each of these categories in just four more games played in his second year.
Being a utility player, Young similarly has a good path to playing time in Spokane. With the Zags losing numerous position players to graduation and the transfer portal, Young can win himself a spot. His ability to play both ends of the field means he could be a useful swiss-army knife, both for the Bulldogs and the Sox.
And while he is a first-time AppleSox, he is not new to summer league baseball. Last summer, Young played six games with the Orange County Riptide in the California Collegiate League. In only 12 at-bats, Young recorded two hits, giving him a batting average of 0.167.
While his playing time was stunted in Orange County, he should be getting plenty of work on the diamond in Wenatchee in 2026.
Kainoa Santiago - Freshman - OF
Despite being ranked No. 16 in Oregon, Santiago has no stats available for his senior year at Jesuit High School in Portland. Plus, his junior year stats do not paint the full picture.
In just five games played, Santiago batted 0.462, smacked six hits, five RBI’s, two doubles, a triple, and a home run. While the sample size is incredibly small, the power and production in that short amount of time speaks volumes.
What is known about his senior year is that Santiago and the Jesuit Crusaders battled their way to the semifinals of the Oregon 6A State Championship. The Crusaders blew out Lincoln High School in the opening round 9-0, and then barely edged out Sandy High School 3-2 in the quarterfinals.
However, they came up short against Grant High School, losing 8-2 in the semifinals.
As a left-handed outfielder, Santiago joins a Gonzaga lineup that has lost depth in the outfield. With Sam Stem and Max Coupe departing, Santiago could potentially become a mainstay of the corner outfield. However, as a freshman, he has an uphill battle to win a spot.
But, regardless of his playing time, Santiago is excited to get to work with the Bulldogs.
"I chose Gonzaga because of the amazing academics, as well as the great coaching that helps with baseball development as well as human development," Santiago said in astatement to Gonzaga Athletics.
The 2026 season begins on May 29 as the AppleSox jet off to Edmonton to play the Edmonton RiverHawks at RE/MAX Field at 6:05 p.m. The AppleSox open their home season on June 5th at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium as they host the Kamloops NorthPaws. The AppleSox have 29 home games and play until mid-August. The franchise’s five West Coast League championships are the second-most in league history. Season ticket packages are available for purchase now at applesox.com/season-tickets.
