Homegrown Catcher Cam Boardman To Return To Upper Valley Nighthawks

Homegrown hero Cam Boardman will be returning to the Upper Valley for a second summer in Hartford in 2026.

Though he was born in Daegu, South Korea, Boardman went to Oxbow High School in Bradford, VT for three years. He finished his high school Vermont Academy in Saxtons River for two years before enrolling at the University of Hartford in Hartford, CT.

“It's always a great opportunity to play close to home,” Boardman said.

Boardman said that playing for Upper Valley allows his family to watch him play in person, something they haven’t consistently been able to do since he was in high school. The Maxfield Sports Complex is about a half hour drive from Oxbow High School.

“It's always nice just to be able to come home for the summer, see my parents, see my dog,” said Boardman. “Especially with Upper Valley, I think our team last year was so close, and we have a bunch of guys coming back.”

The catcher mentioned returners Anthony Greco, Jack Spanier, Nick Tamburro and Mateo Wells as players from the 2025 Nighthawks who he has kept in touch with since last summer and is excited to play with again. 

“I think definitely just keep capitalizing on the positives that we learned from last year,” Boardman said of his goals for the 2026 summer season. “I think we had a really good group of guys, a good chemistry. Keeping that up, staying loose and light and just enjoying the game. Not worrying about too many things, putting too much pressure on ourselves. I think when we were at our best, we just played good baseball, played clean baseball, and then just always had timely hits.”

Beyond catching pitchers Tamburro and Wells last summer, Boardman will also be joined in the Upper Valley by Hartford teammate and pitcher, Anthony Bubba.

“The first four days of practice, just trying to take advantage of that and understanding what [the pitchers] like to do,” Boardman said. “Communication is super important, so I try to be as communicative as I can with new pitchers, new staff. You really try to show to them and prove to them that I truly care about their results and that I want what's best for them.”

Boardman is also looking forward to reconnecting with his teammates off the field.

“Your routine was to go to the [Upper Valley] Aquatic Center, workout in the mornings and then go to Taste,” Boardman said. “I think the food at Taste is delicious. 
It's a great breakfast place. So hanging out, all my teammates there, and then going back to the field is always something to look forward to.”

Boardman said that he enjoyed spending time with his teammates outside and in nature, specifically mentioning playing golf.

“I think being from the Upper Valley, I can take it for granted, but Vermont and New Hampshire is such a great outdoors place,” Boardman said.

At the plate, Boardman is a contact specialist who has gotten on base everywhere he goes. In 23 starts for Hartford last season, the left-handed batter hit .325 and got on base at a staggering rate of .441. Despite hitting no home runs and accruing just eight extra base hits, his stellar on base prowess still earned him a sizable .882 OPS.

The 22-year-old picked up right where he left off after leaving one Hartford for another. Across 19 games in his first season with the Nighthawks, Boardman put up an on base percentage of .382 and hit the first collegiate home run.

“It's great to have a good crowd,” Boardman said. “It kind of motivates you to play well for not only just yourself and the team. I'm just excited. 
It's going to be fun. I feel like we're going to have a good team this year with the bunch of returners that understand what needs to get done, I think we'll have some competitive games, and I'm hoping that we can make [the] playoffs together and go further.