Local Product Backer Headlines Four Newcomers to 2025 Squad
March 20, 2025 - Frontier League (FL)
Evansville Otters News Release
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Evansville Otters are excited to announce the newest group of signings for the 2025 season, including RHP CJ Backer, INF Alain Camou, RHP Jordi Romero and C Cohen Wilbanks.
CJ Backer, a native of Newburgh, IN, joins the Otters for his first year of professional baseball. Collegiately, Backer played at Purdue University for the last three years, where he posted a 7.36 ERA in 54.2 innings in his senior season. His biggest season of success was in 2023 when Backer carried a 3.65 ERA through 37 innings before an April injury ended his junior season.
Before playing for the Boilermakers, Backer spent a year at Danville Area Community College. In his single season with the Jaguars, he was named a NJCAA All-American Second-Team after finishing the season in the top-15 in strikeouts (84) and strikeouts per 9 innings (12.74).
Alain Camou enters his fourth season of pro ball, his first in the independent leagues. From Phoenix, AZ, Camou began his professional career with the San Diego Padres affiliation in 2022. After a season in the Dominican Summer League, the Padres assigned Camou to the Arizona Complex League team, where he hit for a .287 batting average, 45 hits, 13 doubles and 23 RBI in 2023. Last year, Camou split time with the Padres' high-A Fort Wayne TinCaps and low-A Lake Elsinore Storm before his release in late July.
Jordi Romero hails from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and joins the Otters for his third year of professional baseball. After being signed by the Chicago Cubs in July of 2023, Romero played for the Cubs' Dominican Summer League teams. In a short 2023, he put up a 1.93 ERA in four games. 2024 brought more success for Romero, as he collected a 1.32 ERA across 17 games, striking out 21 batters in 27.1 innings of work.
Finally, Cohen Wilbanks also makes his professional debut in 2025. The Taylorsville, GA native played five collegiate seasons across three schools. After stops at Lee University and Cleveland State Community College, Wilbanks attended Georgia Gwinnett College from 2022-'24.
In three years with the Grizzlies, he hit for a .398 batting average, highlighted by a .400 average in 42 games as a junior in '23. Alongside his high batting average, Wilbanks collected 102 hits, 33 doubles, three home runs and 86 RBI across 97 career games for the Grizzlies.
The Evansville Otters are excited to welcome fans back to Bosse Field in 2025 for the 30th season of Otters baseball! Season ticket and group ticket packages are on sale now. Call (812) 435-8686 for more information. Individual game tickets will go on sale in the coming weeks.
The Evansville Otters are the 2006 and 2016 Frontier League champions.
The Otters play all home games at historic Bosse Field, located at 23 Don Mattingly Way in Evansville, Ind. Stay up to date with the Evansville Otters by visiting evansvilleotters.com, or follow the Otters on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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