CANTON — The Northeast Ohio Travel League began preparations for its 37th season by conducting its annual player draft Saturday at Strike Zone Lanes.
The 16-team trio league had a player pool of 49 to choose from for the 32 open spots in the league. Those not selected will be added to the league’s substitute list, if he/she wishes to do so.
The draft order was determined again by captains’ averages, going low to high in the first round, and then combining the captain’s average with his first-round pick to determine the second round draft order.
There were three new captains making their initial selections in the draft setting, including Michael Thewes, Justin McIlvain and Alex Lincoln.
T.J. Charles was the No. 1 overall draft pick by Joe Altimore III, the league’s president, to kick off the event.
Sponsors of teams will be announced at a later date along with the schedule for next season, with the league again starting from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Thursdays beginning in September.
Here are the rosters for the 2026-27 season, with captains listed first, in the order of first-round selections:
Team 5: Joe Altimore III, T.J. Charles, Michael Emerick Sr.
Team 7: Doug Rich, Tony Wagner, Sean Rich
Team 16: Mark Suchan, Taylor Suchan, Jason Suchan
Team 1: Jeff DiMarzio, Chase Barstow, J.D. Jones
Team 4: Troy Wilt, Jordan Norris, Scott Hopkins
Team 14: Matt Frock, Scott Vandegrift, Derrick Simon
Team 2: Tony Confalone, John Brockway, Chris Mahaffey
Team 9: Austin Reese, Zach McCutchan, Bud Stebbins
Team 15: Gary Liber Jr., Cooper Smith, Chance Mattern
Team 8: Justin McIlvain, Robert Weary, Don Sprout
Team 10: Brett McCourry, Ryan Trowbridge, David Randazzo
Team 12: Alex Lincoln, Rich Elliott III, Chris Logan
Team 6: Eric Randazzo, John Randolph, Tommy Gallagher
Team 3: Josh Haddad, Branden Ball, Kara Kutz
Team 11: Michael Thewes, Troy Workman, Nate Davis
Team 13: Jim Fellows, Adam Kutz, Bob Eckenrode