GASTONIA, N.C. – The Gastonia Ghost Peppers have signed catcher Gavin Stupienski to a contract for the 2025 season, announced by general manager Brady Salisbury on Friday.
Stupienski spent time with both the Arizona Diamondbacks and Kansas City Royals organizations, reaching as high as Double-A Northwest Arkansas in 2022 with the Royals system.
The lefty-hitting catcher was drafted by the Diamondbacks in 2016 out of UNC Wilmington, concluding his collegiate career with a 36-game on-base streak – the third longest streak in Seahawks history.
Stupienski, who’s celebrating his 31st birthday on March 12, spent each of the past two seasons with the Sussex County Miners of the Frontier League.
Stupienski slashed .301/.391/.479 (.869 OPS) in 2023 with Sussex County, crushing 17 home runs in 94 games. He played 64 games last season, hitting .280 with a .776 OPS.
The Princeton, New Jersey native is the first catcher signed by the Ghost Peppers in 2025. Stupienski is the fifth player signing announced by Gastonia.
The players who have signed so far are:
RHP Jimmie Sherfy
C Gavin Stupienski
INF Jake Hoover
INF Alan Alonso
INF Ethan Skender
The team will aim to announce a player signing every Friday for the remainder of the offseason.
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The Ghost Peppers open the 2025 season on Friday, April 25 against the York Revolution. Game time is set for 7 p.m. Single game tickets are currently on sale. Contact the Ghost Peppers office at 980-415-2255, or visit www.ghostpeppersbaseball.com for more information.
Gastonia Ghost Peppers concluded its first season of operations with Zawyer Sports & Entertainment – a sports ownership group with professional teams operating in the U.S. and the fourth season for the franchise at CaroMont Health Park in the FUSE District of Gastonia. The Ghost Peppers had a historic inaugural season, leading the Atlantic League with 83 wins and 201 home runs. Gastonia went 46-17 in the first half of the season, which is the highest winning percentage (.730) in a single half in league history. The club became the first organization with multiple 200+ home run seasons and set the league record for highest win percentage in a three-year span (.651 from 2022-2024).