Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Former Arcata Tiger Ben Lukens is one of seven local players on this year’s Crabs team.

By Ray Hamill — Part of the joy in watching the Humboldt Crabs year after year is seeing the local players on the team.

And that will continue to be the case this summer, with seven former H-DNL players on the 2026 roster.

The Crabs open the new season on Friday night, when they host the Novato Knicks in the first of three weekend games.

First pitch is set for 7 p.m.

And there’s a good chance some of the former H-DNL standouts will see some time on the field.

This year’s local contingent includes Fortuna’s Cody Collins and Arcata’s Miles Oliver, each of whom were with the team in 2025, along with Fortuna’s Daniel Osborne, St. Bernard’s Aidan Dorsch, Eureka’s Cooper Ohlsen, McKinleyville’s Jackson Kelly and Arcata’s Ben Lukens.

Osborne, an outfielder, is the only position player of the group, with the other six locals all featuring on the pitching staff.

Osborne has played the past two seasons at Shasta College, earning all-conference recognition in each.

In 2025, he was named to the all-Golden Valley Conference second team, while in 2026 he received an all-conference honorable mention.

The 2022 Huskies graduate averaged .265 at the plate this year and drove in 18 runs for a Knights team that finished 16-22.

He was one of six former HDN players on the Shasta roster, along with Del Norte’s Aidan Rice and Cole Blackburn, Arcata’s Will Mager, Fortuna’s Rylan Lommori, Hoopa’s Lyle McKinnon

Collins, meanwhile, returns to this year’s team after a successful spring at Santa Rosa JC that saw the Bear Cubs reach the NorCal regional finals.

Humboldt Crabs Baseball – The Crabs players at the first practice of the summer on Wednesday.

The 2023 Fortuna High graduate appeared in 15 games for Santa Rosa this year, including three starts, and finished with a 2-1 record and two saves, while posting an ERA of 5.05.

He finished the year with 29 strikeouts in 41 innings while allowing 16 walks.

Dorsch, meanwhile, will be making his Crabs debut this summer after playing for Youngstown State in Ohio.

The 2022 St. Bernard’s graduate, who played a big role on the Crusaders’ march to a first-ever NorCal title as a senior, appeared in eight games for the NCAA Division-1 Penguins this spring, including three starts.

The Penguins finished the season 15-39.

Kelly graduated from McKinleyville High in 2025 and will also be playing his first summer with the Crabs.

This year, he played at Shoreline College, a community college in Washington that competes in the Northwest Athletic Conference.

Kelly appeared in 10 games for the Dolphins, including eight starts, and he was 2-0 with an ERA of 4.91.

The former Panthers standout threw 47.2 innings and had 45 strikeouts as the Shoreline men finished 18-25.

Lukens also graduated high school last year after playing a pivotal role in leading the Arcata Tigers to a North Coast Section championship in his senior year.

He enjoyed a good start to life in college at Lassen, where he was named second-team all-conference.

Lukens appeared in 18 games for the Cougars, including seven starts, and finished with a record of 7-1 and a save.

The right-handed pitcher had an ERA of 5.24, recording 47 strikeouts in 56.2 innings, which was third most on the team.

The Cougars finished second in the GVC with a record of 18-7 and were 28-15 overall.

Miles Oliver, left, and Ben Lukens

Ohlsen, meanwhile, appeared in seven games for Butte, including one start, as the Roadrunners went 18-22.

Oliver spent two seasons at CR before moving south to attend Cal State Monterey Bay this year.

As a sophomore at CR in 2025, the former Arcata Tiger posted a team-high in wins, finishing 5-6 in 14 appearances with an ERA of 7.10.

The workhorse pitcher threw a team-high 64.2 innings that spring and struck out 52 batters.

The Crabs will continue their three-game weekend-opening series against the Knicks on Saturday night at 6:30, before game three on Sunday afternoon at 12:30.

They also host the Humboldt Eagles 19U team on Wednesday night.

Daniel Osborne, left, and Cooper Ohlsen