HOST FAMILIES NEEDED!
The Newport Gulls are looking for Host Families for the 2026 Season!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Eric Lindley - Director of Baseball Operations
operations@newportgulls.com // (401) 363-2134
NEWPORT, RI- Gulls Director of Baseball Operations Eric Lindley, along with the Gulls Board of Directors led by General Manager Chuck Paiva and Vice President Chris Patsos are hard at work preparing for the upcoming 2026 season. However, each member of the organization notes that as soon as the calendar hits May, everything begins to get "real."
While Paiva and Patsos focus their efforts on building the roster and coaching staff, there is another roster consisting of Host Families needing to be filled for 2026. Each roster is equally difficult to coordinate at this time of the year, and the Gulls need YOUR help with the Host Family Program!
"Summer Collegiate Baseball has changed significantly with the rise of the transfer portal, hosting the MLB Draft in July instead of June, and other factors," said General Manager Paiva. He continued to add, "More and more players that we commit spots to in the fall do not end up playing with us in the summer; oftentimes not finding out until a few weeks before the season."
To adapt to this trend, the New England Collegiate Baseball League has decided to increase the maximum roster size from 35 to 40 players.
Similar to how there is turnover in players from year to year, there is turnover with Host Families too. The Host Family Program is the foundation of the organization. Newport is beyond thankful to all the families that have opened their homes to players throughout the years. Forever grateful to these families, memories, and friendships have been built over the past 25 years because of players living with members of the community as they chase their dream of playing Major League Baseball.
Heading into 2026, the Gulls are seeking assistance from the community to house their players, who are collegiate student-athletes. Players arrive the first weekend of June and depart after the season concludes the first or second week of August- roughly 11 weeks total.
Making elementary and middle school visits, instructing youth summer camp, and playing 44 games during this time, the players are busy. Although there are off days and downtime for the players to enjoy their stay on Aquidneck Island, players are with the team for most of these 11 weeks.
If interested in learning more about the program, click here to learn more about being a Host Family, or contact Eric Lindley at operations@newportgulls.com with any specific questions. Opening Day is Friday, June 5th and the Newport Gulls are looking forward to seeing everyone at Cardines Field and would like to say thank you to all past, current, and future host families. It would not be possible to operate without the generosity of these individuals!
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The Newport Gulls, members of the 13-team New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL), are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, founded as the Rhode Island Gulls in 1998 in Cranston, R.I., before moving to Newport in 2001. In addition to recruiting, fielding, and developing a team of the nation's top collegiate baseball athletes and attracting 50,000 fans annually to Cardines Field, the predominantly volunteer organization strives to benefit the community via summer camps, reading programs, fundraisers, scholarships, and charitable donations – totaling over $1 million since 2001. The Gulls are eight-time champions of the NECBL – the winningest franchise in league history – and were ranked as the overall No. 1 summer collegiate baseball team in the country by Perfect Game USA in 2012.
For more information about the Newport Gulls, visit facebook.com/newportgulls, follow the Gulls on Twitter @NewportGulls or visit www.newportgulls.com.
