SIOUX CITY EXPLORERS PRESS RELEASE
Phone: 817.739.3693
Website: xsbaseball.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 17, 2026
KNOWLES RETURNS TO EXPLORERS
DYNAMIC OUTFIELDER BACK WITH THE X’S
SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The Sioux City Explorers have announced that the team has signed D’Shawn Knowles to a contract for the 2026 season. The move marks the third time the dynamic outfielder has taken the field for Sioux City. The addition of the speedster Knowles brings the total number of players under contract for the Explorers and Manager Steve Montgomery to 21 for the 2026 season.
D’Shawn Knowles returns for his third season with Sioux City after joining the club in early August of 2024 for the stretch run to the playoffs. The native of New Providence, Bahamas, spent six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim organization, reaching AAA in 2024. He also has experience on the international stage as a member of Team Great Britain during the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
In 2025 Knowles finished the season third for the X’s in runs scored with 62, third in RBI with 54, and he led the team with six triples. The switch hitter would slash a line of .286/.388/.457 while blasting nine home runs and would steal 53 base–good for second on the club and second in the American Association, trailing teammate Austin Davis who had 60 stolen sacks. His 53 stolen bases are the second highest single-season total in team history and comes in at 10th all-time for the X’s, and his 2025 stolen-base total comes in second to Davis with 68 career bags.
Knowles was a big force for the Explorers over the last five weeks of the 2025 season. He led the team with a .389 average, going 42-for-108 with six homers and 25 stolen bases. Knowles would have 15 multi-hit games over his last 30 games with a six and seven-game hitting streak during that stretch. The speedy outfielder hit .388 over the course of August and was named the Rawlings Batter of the month for August by the American Association as Sioux City would go on to claim the best overall regular season record in 2025. He racked up 13 extra-base hits, including three triples while belting five long balls and knocking in 24 runs for the month. Over the last 30 days of the season, Knowles would hit .367, the third highest total in the circuit.
In 2024, Knowles helped provide an immediate spark to the Explorers offense upon his arrival on August 7 as a free agent signee. He got off to a solid start in Sioux City, beginning his time with the X’s on a three-game hitting streak and hitting safely in 10 of his first 13 games. He had back-to-back two-hit games on August 13 and 14 in games against Kane County as part of his hot early start.
For the season, Knowles hit .261 in 23 games with one home run and 13 RBI. His lone long ball will live forever in Explorers history, and it became a defining moment of the 2024 season. On August 19 Sioux City came home to face the defending Miles Wolff Cup champions, the Kansas City Monarchs, in a pivotal five-game series. The X’s were rolling 8-2 into the top of the seventh. The Monarchs, however, rallied for 11 runs to take a 13-8 lead. The Explorers would come back in the eighth, scoring eight runs to take the lead back. Knowles would launch the go-ahead grand slam to complete the Sioux City comeback on the way to a 16-13 win. The Explorers would go on to sweep Kansas City in the five-game series. Knowles finished the game 3-for-5 with a double and homer and scored three runs in his four-RBI performance.
Knowles patrolled center field for Sioux City and added five stolen bases. He also added seven multi-hit games during his 23 games to go along with six doubles, scoring 17 runs to close out the year. Knowles added his second three-hit game on August 25 at Lincoln with a double, scoring two runs in that 10-6 win at Lincoln.
Prior to his arrival in Sioux City, Knowles played in 35 games at Triple-A Salt Lake City for the Angels organization. He hit .202 with one home run and 14 RBI in the first part of 2014. He went 6-for-19 in a short rehab stint with the Angels rookie complex club to finish the season .223 combined in the “halos” system. In 2023, Knowles split time between the Double-A Rocket City Trash Pandas and High-A Tri-City Dust Devils. He was promoted to Double-A in mid-August, ending his time with the Dust Devils on a 10-game hit streak where he batted .421 with a 1.004 OPS.
The switch-hitter also split time between two levels in 2022, starting with the class A Inland Empire 66ers before playing with High-A Tri-City in the Northwest League. Over the season, he batted .329 with an .878 OPS at Inland Empire, needing just 38 games to earn promotion to the next level. Before his advancement, Knowles ended his stint with the 66ers on an 18-game stretch where he batted .379 with a 1.045 OPS including 10 extra-base hits. After promotion, it took a little while for him to get adjusted, but by the end of the season, he was once again swinging a hot bat. Over the final 29 games of the season, Knowles had a .307 batting average with 23 runs and 11 RBI while getting on base at a .385 clip. He would hit .234 for the season at Tri-City in 84 games with one homerun and 26 RBI. Knowles would score 44 runs good for fourth on the club and slash a line of .234/.307/.287. He would hit .262 combined at both stops with 22 stolen bases that year.
In 2021 Knowles spent the whole year at class-A Inland Empire. He would produce a slash line of .227/.280/.355 while leading the team with 31 stolen bases. Knowles would finish second on the team in runs scored (61) third in hits (82), second in doubles (21) and second in RBI (48). He would club five home runs and five triples, good for second on the team. He was also ranked the eighth best prospect in the Angels organization during the year. For the 66ers, Knowles batted .227 with a .635 OPS through the season, hitting five homers while scoring 61 runs and knocking in 48. He had five three-hit games in the year, including one near the end of the season Sept. 4 against the Modesto Nuts where he went 4-5 with a homer, double and five RBI.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Knowles played in rookie ball during the 2019 season, batting .241 with a .698 OPS over 64 games. He finished the season with 18 games where he hit .267 with an .817 OPS and three home runs. The outfielder’s first test of professional baseball came the year before when he started the season with the AZL Angels, batting .301 over 30 games, before moving to the Orem Owlz, posting a .321 average with a .949 OPS in 28 games.
Knowles climbed the ladder of the Angels system in 2018, beginning at the rookie level but reaching AAA in 2024. In his seven-year career, the 24-year-old has played 521 games in the minor and partner leagues combined with a .253 average with 24 career home runs, 224 RBI and 108 stolen bases. In the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Knowles had a pinch-hit triple for Great Britain in the seventh inning off Team USA and Colorado Rockies reliever Kyle Freeland on March 11 at Chase Field in Phoenix in a 6-2 loss. He had another pinch hit and a double in an 18-8 loss to Team Canada on March 12.
Knowles’ twin brother D’Vaughn Knowles played parts of three seasons with the New York Yankees organization. Knowles grew up in Nassau in the Bahamas but makes his home in Lake Worth, Florida.
2026 Players signed:
INF Cameron Bufford
RHP Ryan Beaird
RHP Trey Morrill
LHP Ben DeTaeye
C Dillon Tatum
IF Braulio Vasquez
IF Alberto Osuna
OF Yeison Asencio
IF Elliot Good
RHP Tahnaj Thomas
RHP Julio Rosario
RHP Peniel Otaño
LHP Reed Butz
RHP Max Charnin
OF Jackson Mayo
IF Zane Denton
C Wilfredo Gimenez
IF Yorman Rodriguez
IF Jordan Donahue
RHP Rob Hughes
OF D’Shawn Knowles
The Explorers are set to open their 33rd season in Siouxland on the road on Friday night, May 15, against the Chicago Dogs. The club will celebrate opening night at Lewis and Clark Park on Friday night, May 22, against the Lincoln Saltdogs. Ticket packages for the 2026 season along with sponsorship and partner opportunities are available now by calling the Explorers front office at 712-277-WINS. Follow the Explorers social media channels and the club’s website xsbaseball.com for off-season news and updates.
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