The Barrie Baycats have added another local athlete to their roster, signing Alliston-born catcher Carson Barker for the 2026 CBL season.
Barker attended Banting Memorial High School in Alliston before committing to Genesee Community College (NJCAA) in Batavia, N.Y., where he hit .326 with six home runs and 23 RBI over 27 games.
He transferred to Lourdes University (NAIA) in Sylvania, Ohio thereafter, but hit just .140 with a home run and six RBI in 17 games across the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
It was at Lourdes where he was introduced to catching after injuries to teammates started to hamper the team.
After Barker himself had his time at Lourdes hurt by the injury bug, he returned to Ontario, playing at the University of Ottawa. That fall, he led the Gee-Gees in RBI, walks, and doubles.
A stint in the California Winter League in 2024 led to the Ottawa Titans signing him that spring after exposure to the team's coaches, but he never appeared in the Frontier League.
With the Gee-Gees, he appeared mostly as a third baseman, but was signed as a catcher, as the Baycats did on Wednesday. He joins Tyler Plumpton as the team's full-time catching options they've announced so far for 2026.
ADDITIONAL MOVES
Also on Wednesday, the Baycats re-signed utility man Justin Groves, who the team acquired from Hamilton midseason in 2025.
The 24-year-old from Peterborough struggled to get playing time through the season with Hamilton, and went to Barrie as a bench option for the IBL playoffs.
Across 12 games between Hamilton and Barrie, the Humber product hit just .095 with 13 strikeouts and a .476 OPS.
Also, relief pitchers Adam Khan and Chris Nagorski were released and designated as inactive, respectively, on Wednesday.
Khan recently finished his collegiate career at the University of British Columbia and remains with the school as a student assistant coach. UBC's baseball team has made the NAIA World Series each of the past four years.
