The Mid-America League’s (MAL) Beaumont Oil Barons have signed Croatia’s Bartol Bosanac and France’s Theo García for the 2026 season. The MAL was founded in 2024 to provide opportunities to amateur players, including, but not limited to university players. Beaumont (Texas) is one of four new teams this season, which began play last week.
Bosanac plays for Olimpija Karlovac, long-time juggernauts of the Croatian Baseball League and a force on the European stage. Last year, Karlovac competed in the European Champions Cup, the top level of European club baseball, and it will host the the Confederation Cup this summer. Last year, the young Bosanac pitched in four games for Olimpija, striking out seven in eight innings [stats], his second year pitching in the Hrvatski Baseball Savez.
Capable of playing second, third, and all three outfield positions, thus Bosanac he has only seen action in the field, hitting .200/.200/.233 in nine games. Across the last three seasons, he has a .221/.312/.267 average in 66 games, adding 19 stolen bases. It will be his first experience in the North America.
A statement from the club noted, ‘A big step towards college and professional baseball! Another proof that hard work and dedication are definitely recognized.‘
García, meanwhile, played this spring for New Mexico Junior College as a catcher, seeing action in two games and going 1-for-6 with a walk and a double. The first-year Thunderbird is teammates with the Netherlands’ Tobias Imming. In France, he trained for Pôle Espoir Baseball Montpelier and has played for State Toulousain Tigers in Division 1, for whom he has seen significant playing time over the past two years. In particular, he has shown promise behind the plate, where he threw out 6-of-15 baserunners stealing last year while committing only one error in 13 games.
The Oil Barons are new for 2026 and will play Lamar University’s Vincent Beck Stadium, competiting against teams from Bryan (Texas), Fort Scott (Kansas), Meridian (Kansas), Nacogdoches (Texas), and Piney Woods (Texas).
Those who wish to keep track of Bosanac and García’s seasons can do so on the league website [link]. Bosanac has not appeared in the two games for which box scores are available, while García started at catcher on May 22 against Bryan, going 0-for-1 with four walks in a 9-8 victory [box].
Mid-America League rosters include up to 40 players from NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA, community college and junior college players, along with select players who may have exhausted their college eligibility but want to maintain their amateur playing status. Players stay with host families in their local market during the season. Teams employ a head coach, pitching coach, and hitting coach who will work exclusively in the summer to coach and manage their Mid America League team.
Other international players in the league iclude Ki-jun Ham (South Korea), Maikol Pérez (Cuba), Birgilito Santana (Virgin Islands), Keisuke Shibata (Japan), and Hunter Southey (New Zealand), along with several players from the Dominican Republic.
Translation from Croatian by Google.