Oregon State baseball adds Aussie infielder ahead of 2026<\/p>\n
Published 3:29 pm Tuesday, January 6, 2026<\/p>\n
Oregon State baseball added Australian infielder Josh Nati<\/a> to its 2026 roster, Beavers head coach Mitch Canham announced Tuesday.<\/p>\n Nati, a native of Sydney, Australia, played nine games in the Australian Baseball League during the 2025-26 season. He played his final game with the AUBL\u2019s Sydney Blue Sox<\/a> on Dec. 28 before making his way to Corvallis. Nati slashed .222\/.348\/.611 in 18 at-bats with the Blue Sox, striking out three times and hitting a pair of home runs. He started three games for the Blue Sox at catcher and mixed in appearances at first and third base.<\/p>\n Nati earned three caps with the Australian National Team, also. He played for his country\u2019s U18 squad twice and its U16 squad once.<\/p>\n Oregon State signed Nati, 6-foot-2, as a utility infielder and catcher. He bats and throws right-handed and will wear No. 45 on the diamond for the Beavers.<\/p>\n Nati, 18, is the second of his family to play baseball stateside. His elder brother, Jimmy, is a senior infielder at Stanford. He\u2019s the second Australian to play for Canham in Corvallis, joining former Beavers second baseman and eventual MLB No. 1-overall pick Travis Bazzana.<\/p>\n Nati is one of four catchers on Oregon State\u2019s roster now, and one of 13 infielders. Currently, the Beavers\u2019 roster sits at 37-total players.<\/p>\n Following the House settlement<\/a>, the NCAA reduced college baseball\u2019s maximum roster size<\/a> from 40 to 34. The move corresponded with the NCAA\u2019s increased scholarship limits (11.7 in 2025 increased to a full 34 for 2026) and includes some wiggle room. College teams are allowed to carry currently-limitless \u201cdesignated student-athletes\u201d, which, in essence, functions like a redshirt.<\/p>\n For Oregon State, it means three players on the current roster will either be DSAs, or cut from the roster prior to the season\u2019s beginning. The former is the more likely outcome.<\/p>\n