Victoria Golden Tide to change name to Victoria Collegiate Cats

Members of the Victoria Golden Tide, soon to be called the "Victoria Collegiate Cats" pose in their Collegiate Cats gear at the HarbourCats offices. Photo: Victoria HarbourCats

February 17, 2026

Official Victoria HarbourCats News Release

VICTORIA, BC — In name only, the ‘Golden Tide’ tenure is coming to an end — so a stronger age of Victoria collegiate baseball can take root.

Welcome, the Victoria Collegiate Cats, fully embracing the HarbourCats logo and branding as of the fall season — caps, uniforms, workout gear, and mission statement to develop great baseball players and young men in a winning environment. Same program, even stronger connection to the parent club.

The city’s entry in the Canadian College Baseball Conference (CCBC) will play as the Golden Tide for this spring campaign, which starts in just over a month. The team, which provides an outstanding collegiate baseball and academic experience for UVic and Camosun students, where they can stay at home, play in a great stadium (Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park) in a tremendous city, with the best weather in Canada, and get a world-class degree over five years of athletic eligibility, began as the Victoria Golden Tide in the fall of 2021.

Five years as the Golden Tide included some strong results, including a second-place finish in May of 2023, a Cinderella run to the final of the CCBC World Series in Lethbridge.

“It just makes sense for many reasons, as the program has improved and grown beyond early challenges, to be fully adopted under the respected HarbourCats name,” said Jim Swanson, managing partner of the group that owns the HarbourCats of the West Coast League, the Collegiate Cats, and the Nanaimo NightOwls (also WCL). “Among other bonuses, so many Golden Tide players have earned summer WCL opportunities through this program, and that can only continue to increase with the foundation being firmly entrenched in this name shift as well.

“In hindsight, this should have been the naming from the beginning. Moving forward, the players and coaches and new recruits are excited for the transition.”

The HarbourCats front office, led by Swanson, GM Christian Stewart and VP-Operations Adrian Somers, supports the now-Collegiate Cats coaching staff of head coach Chris Vlaj, and assistants Darius Opdam Bak and Colton O’Brien — in fact, Opdam Bak and O’Brien have themselves taken to the field as HarbourCats. The Collegiate Cats coaches will continue to have the support and mentorship as well of all coaches with both the WCL HarbourCats and NightOwls.

Over the four completed seasons, more than 20 players in good standing with the Golden Tide have earned opportunities to play with either of the Island’s WCL clubs, some in regular season and playoffs (such as team leader and catcher Jai Berezowski, and slugger Ryan Deagle), or in exhibition games. That number will grow this summer. The list:

OF Jaxson Cordle

RHP Brett Paterson

RHP Nate Major

C Jai Berezowski

OF Dominic Biello

IF Jordan Bond

RHP Darius Opdam Bak

OF Colton O’Brien

RHP Peter Cunningham

C Damian Cataldo

IF Thomas Plant

IF Ryan Deagle

LHP Ethan Dean

RHP Jakin Rohne

OF/RHP Travis Harfield

IF Nick Lee

IF Brandon Green

RHP Haldon Craig

OF Daniel Sawchyn

OF Tyler Burton

RHP Owen Luchies

RHP Cam Dunn

LHP Jacob Popadynec

The Golden Tide start their 2026 schedule on the road at Thompson Rivers University with a four-game set March 21-22 and then return for their home opener on Saturday March 28 at 1:00 p.m. at Wilsons Group Stadium against the Edmonton Collegiate Riverhawks. A second game follows at 4:00 p.m., with another doubleheader scheduled for Sunday the 29 at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.