Bodine breaking out in Bowling Green backstop tandem

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The 2026 Men’s College World Series came to a close just over a week ago with Oklahoma defeating North Carolina in the championship series.

One Bowling Green Hot Rod was catching in that same series a year ago, and now he’s a part of one of the best position rooms in all of minor league baseball.

‘They got him.’ Three words that Caden Bodine elicited quite often at the college ranks, and now he’s receiving the same reaction in the minors.

Bodine was selected No. 30 by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2025 MLB Draft but was dealt to Tampa Bay in a trade last December as part of the return for RHP Shane Baz.

Since joining the Rays’ farm system, the first-year pro has been remarkable.

The switch-hitting backstop was named April Carolina League Player of the Month during his time with the Charleston RiverDogs, and since being promoted to High-A in mid-May, Bodine has already earned a South Atlantic League Player of the Week honor with the Hot Rods.

“The staff throughout the whole Rays organization so far has been phenomenal. They seem to know what they’re talking about through hitting, catching, pitching, all of the above. They really want to win and that’s a really important factor,” Bodine said.

An important factor in the wins has been Bodine and his behind the plate partner, Nathan Flewelling.

The two have dominated in all aspects of the game and are proof of the saying, ‘competition breeds excellence.’

“We kind of feed off of each other and we learn from each other,” Flewelling said. “I use his strengths, he uses my strengths, and I think we got a great coaching staff that helps us learn every day. We put in the work every day before the games, and I think it’s been paying off for us.”

“We bounce ideas off each other and just kind of got subtle competition obviously, but all in good nature, and it’s fun to be around,” Bodine said.

“We are very spoiled to have two really good catchers,” manager Rafael Valenzuela Jr. said. “They feed off each other. They make each other better. They push each other every day, so that’s really cool and we are very spoiled. Hopefully we’ll be able to keep them here for a while.”

Hopefully the Hot Rods continue to win in the process, anchored down by sluggers like Bodine, who have bought into the advice of the BG coaching staff.

“[Brett Schneider] does a great job giving the pitchers plans and all that stuff, so it makes it incredibly easy to go up there and look for certain pitches,” Bodine said.

“I would just say overall, get a good pitch to hit in the heart of the zone and just take your best swing and let the rest take care of itself.”