The Seattle Cheney Studs finished 19–5 in league play to take the 2026 PIL title, 3½ games clear of the Seattle Blackfins. The championship is the 23rd PIL crown in Studs history, adding another trophy to a run that stretches back to the league’s earliest years.
The Blackfins finished second at 15–8, with the DubSea Fish Sticks close behind at 14–9. Everett, Northwest and Redmond rounded out the standings.
Chamberlain sets the pace at the plate
The biggest individual number of the summer belonged to Alex Chamberlain of the Northwest Honkers. Chamberlain hit .427 with a .500 on-base percentage and .854 slugging percentage, good for a 1.354 OPS and a new PIL single-season record. He also led qualifying PIL hitters with a .558 wOBA.
The Studs had plenty of offense behind their championship run. Ryan Spero hit .379 with a 1.048 OPS, while Bradley Carl batted .378, posted a .977 OPS and drove in 41 runs.
Camden Raymond of the Blackfins also cracked the league’s top five in wOBA with a .992 OPS, while the Honkers’ Bryce Moser hit .347 with a .500 OBP and .931 OPS.
Studs arms lead the way
The Studs also had two pitchers at the top of this year’s pitching leaderboard. Dolan Wynne turned in the lowest ERA, going 5–0 with a 1.76. Teammate Vayden Lawrence matched him in the win column at 5–0 while posting a 2.44 ERA over 48 innings.
Everett’s Tommy Zook finished with a 2.70, while the Redmond Dudes got strong seasons from AJ Knorr, who posted a 2.68, and Benjie Sharman, who went 1–0 with a 2.89 ERA and 34 strikeouts over 26⅔ innings.
Two PIL clubs head to Wichita
Both the Studs and the Blackfins made the trip to Wichita this year for the National Baseball Congress World Series, giving the PIL two teams in the 16-team national field. The Blackfins opened with a 6–5 win over TPA Texas, while the Studs notched a 9–5 opening win over the Oklahoma Lookouts. Both teams ended the tournament with a 2-3 record, out of this year’s final rounds. For the Studs, the trip added another chapter to a long NBC history that includes national championships in 2013, 2015 and 2019.
Studs bring home the Grand Forks title
The Studs also brought home hardware from north of the border at the Grand Forks International Baseball Tournament in British Columbia. Seattle knocked off the Blackfins in the semifinals before rolling past the Alaska Goldpanners 12–2 in the championship game.
