By Trevor Dugan
Brightwaters Inn played host to a joint fundraiser for Bay Shore High School baseball and the Bay Shore-Brightwaters Little League Sunday afternoon.
2026 marks the 75th anniversary of the BSBLL, and they are hoping to make some major improvements to their facilities to mark the occasion, while the high school program is looking to install a new batting cage. Many of the players on Bay Shore’s varsity squad grew up playing together in the little league, and were happy to come out in support of the future of baseball in Bay Shore.
The best baseball players fall in love with the game from a young age, and local little leagues are an important part of that. The coaches and parents of Bay Shore’s young athletes are hoping to foster an environment where players can grow and develop that love of the game, while learning new things and having fun. But this would be impossible without the support of their community, and events like Sunday’s fundraiser, which had a fantastic turnout.
Bay Shore varsity Head Coach Chris Shiro spoke about the relationship between his team and the players of Bay Shore-Brightwaters Little League.
“All programs start with the youth program,” Shiro said. “The little league is really starting to grow for us and they’re doing a great job managing things. They came into the high school over the winter for about 15 workouts with us, where they worked with our varsity players one-on-one. Today is just a showing of what a great community this is.”
Encouraging close relationships between high school players and little leaguers is an excellent way to keep athletes interested in baseball into their high school years. Playing together with the same teammates all those years is another priceless experience for young players, something Tyler Leach, Bay Shore shortstop and Farmingdale State commit, spoke about on Sunday.
“Most of our varsity players, we’ve played together since we were about five years old,” Leach told Axcess. “So growing up together and playing together, our team chemistry is unmatched. I don’t know anyone better than those guys.”
Caleb Leichtman, a sophomore on the Bay Shore varsity squad, built on his teammate’s point.
“I’m one of the younger guys, but I remember looking up to these guys my whole career, and now I’m finally playing with them,” Leichtman added. “Things coming up are looking really good, I’m excited for the future.”
Bay Shore-Brightwaters Little League President Rob Knapp is entering his second year at the helm for the BSBLL, and has already made progress in bringing his community together around the little league. Aside from their successful fundraiser Saturday, Knapp says the league has also secured 40 sponsorship signs for their fields in 2026, increased enrollment by 20%, and made renovations to their bathroom and concession buildings. But his goals don’t stop there.
“We have plans in place to hopefully get a couple of new turf fields, new fences, and even potentially some lights on the fields to get our facilities caught up with some of the other little leagues,” Knapp explained. “We have some big hurdles to get over, but I have a great group of guys helping me and we’re doing some really good stuff.”
Knapp also explained why he feels a personal connection to the little league, and responsibility to improve it as best he can. The league president’s family has been involved with the league for more than six decades.
“My family has been involved with the league since 1959, my father was the President and he was instrumental in securing the land where the fields are now, and getting the facility built,” Knapp continued. “Back then we would host state championships, we were one of the premier little leagues on Long Island, that’s where me and my group wanna get us back to.”
Both the little league and high school program were selling raffle tickets, boxes for Sunday’s March Madness games, and accepting donations from attendees at Brightwaters Inn. One Bay Shore resident, small business owner Mike Dennis of South Shore Sauce, even made a generous donation of $500.
Bay Shore High School has produced some fantastic baseball players over the years, including current Red Sox relief pitcher Greg Weissert. The Bay Shore-Brightwaters community wants the best for their young athletes, and they are determined to become a new baseball powerhouse to match communities like Commack, Massapequa, and Sayville. With a nucleus of committed parents and coaches, and the generosity of other like-minded members of their community, they are well on their way to becoming a baseball destination once again. League President Knapp explained it succinctly:
“I think in the next two years, people will look at the Bay Shore-Brightwaters Little League and say, ‘Man, I wanna move to Bay Shore, this is awesome!’”