The Nanaimo NightOwls were announced to the public on 15 July, 2020[1] with the ball club's name paying homage to the Nanaimo Owls baseball team of the 1920s,[3] whilst the 'night' in the name refers to the work that the City of Nanaimo's undertook to install floodlights at Serauxmen Stadium.[3] On the same day, the team's mascot was also announced; Ney-te (pronounced 'Nate') the NightOwl was named in honour of former mayor of Nanaimo Frank Ney.[1] A month later, it was announced that former Georgia State Head Coach Greg Frady would serve as the team's inaugural Coach.[4] One month after his appointment, Frady announced his first signings for the club; a quartet of players affiliated with Illinois State, three of whom had Canadian passports. This group was made up of infielders Aidan Huggins and Nick Gile, outfielder Dayton Peters and right-handed pitcher Chase Florendine.[5]
Name
The Nanaimo NightOwls are unusual among sports teams in that they have two names; the Nanaimo NightOwls and the Nanaimo Bars.[1] Named after the dessert of the same name, Nanaimo Bars had been the most requested name by the fans when asked to name the team.[1] Games that are played during the day will see the club go by the Bars moniker, whilst evening games will be played under the guise of the NightOwls. To this end, the team partnered with supermarket chain Save-On-Foods in order to stock away game concessions stands with Nanaimo bars.[3]
2024
On July 9th, Adison Mattix, Nevan Noonan, Riley Paulino, and Wylie Waters were selected to represent the NightOwls in the 2024 All Star Game in Bellingham.[6]
The NightOwls finished fifth in the north division with a 26-28 record for the second year in a row.[7] Infielder Wylie Waters (University of South Carolina Upstate) finished the season with 9 home runs and 44 runs batted in while pitcher Adison Mattix (Everett Community College) would finish with 48 strikeouts.[8] 35,920 fans attended the NightOwls home games for an average of 1,437 fans per game.[9]
With the Riverhawks clinching a wildcard berth, the NightOwls and Drifters are the only two teams remaining in the league to never qualify for the playoffs.
