Two baseball players from Coombs, Brandon and Trevor Nicoll, have signed up to play with the Hamilton Cardinals in the Canadian Baseball League for the 2026 season. The Cardinals are a professional side in Southern Ontario. For Brandon, this will be his second stint with the Cardinals, who signed him up last season. In his CBL debut with the Cardinals, Brandon batted .305 and led the Hamilton team with seven home runs in 39 games, earning him an all-star selection. Prior to joining the Cards,
Brandon spent four seasons with the Southern Arkansas Muleriders, an NCAA Division II program. During his time there, Nicoll was consistently strong at bat, posting a slash line of .324/.401/.590 with 52 home runs across 220 games. He also won Great American Conference Championships in 2022 and 2023 and played in the NCAA Division II College World Series in 2022. This coming CBL season, Brandon will have his younger brother Trevor by his side. The Cardinals are excited to recruit Trevor, a five-foot-11, 175-pound left-handed
hitting infielder. He played his youth baseball with the Parksville Royals of the British Columbia Premier Baseball League. Leading up to his professional career, Nicoll had a strong collegiate career playing for Vancouver Island University. He spent all four collegiate seasons with VIU, appearing in 100 games. Over his collegiate career, Nicoll posted a .316/.403/.401 slash line with a 48-to-60 strikeout-to-walk ratio. His best season came in 2025, when he slashed .410/.466/.562 and drove in 27 runs in 29 games.
Vancouver Island, Coombs, Nicoll brothers, Hamilton Cardinals, Canadian Baseball League, 2026 season, Brandon Nicoll, Trevor Nicoll, Vancouver Island University, Southern Arkansas Muleriders
Coombs kids playing pro in Canada is kinda wild, love it.
So wait, Brandon did good last year and now they’re bringing his brother too… that’s basically the dream scenario lol. Is the Cardinals like actually MLB affiliated or just “professional” in the loosest way?
I don’t get the strikeout-to-walk ratio part, like .401?? that number sounds like batting average to me. Also 29 games in 2025 but he’s already “best season ever”?? seems too short to be honest.
Hamilton Cardinals in the Canadian Baseball League… ok but do they play in Toronto or is Hamilton basically just branding. Plus bringing both Nicolls feels like they’re paying back family or something? I’m probably reading it wrong, but still, two brothers back to back is always gonna make people assume it’s a gimmick.