NEW YORK, NY — When Julio Solier and Cesar Gonzalez take the field this weekend in Puerto Rico as the Boston College Eagles compete in the 2026 Puerto Rico Challenge, with eight NCAA Division I baseball programs participating in Caguas and Ponce, each of them will feel right at home.
Though for Solier, out of Springfield Central High School in Massachusetts—the sophomore infielder will actually be right at home as he and his family are from Guayama, Puerto Rico.
This weekend will be a homecoming for Julio Solier as Boston College competes in the 2026 Puerto Rico Challenge – Image Credit: Boston College Athletics
“It’s going to feel like home,” Solier said in a recent interview with Kaileigh Grieb of JustBaseball.com. “My parents are coming, my grandma’s in Puerto Rico, and I’ll get to see my dad for the first time in a while.
I can’t wait to bring BC (Boston College) baseball there and show everyone what this program is about.”
As it stands for his teammate Gonzalez, a sophomore catcher and right-handed reliever, playing a viable role behind the plate and on the mound last season as a freshman, he is a native of Maracaibo, Venezuela, graduating from Springfield Commonwealth High School—a simple car ride away from Solier’s former high school.
Cesar Gonzalez, a catcher and reliever for the Boston College Eagles, hails from the same city as Milwaukee Brewers’ young Venezuelan superstar Jackson Chourio – Image Credit: Boston College Athletics
“We actually met at a tryout,” a laughing Gonzalez revealed with Solier then stating, “We played against each other, and he actually threw me out. I stole the base, and he threw me out. He didn’t even realize it was me.”
On when did their love for baseball begin
Solier: “My grandpa was a professional player in Puerto Rico. I never met him, but my mom talks about him all the time. My older brother used to play, and after the games I’d grab a helmet, run the bases—it’s just how I got into baseball.”
Gonzalez: “Growing up, baseball was everything back home (in Venezuela). It’s the sport that everyone plays whenever you’re little. And so I used to go to every softball game that my dad played every weekend. That’s the way I started playing baseball.”
On the challenges and their adjustment of moving from Puerto Rico/Venezuela to Massachusetts
Solier: “It was really hard at first. It was just my mom and me, so making friends wasn’t easy. I’ve always been a little shy, but eventually I told myself I had to open up. Once I started meeting more Puerto Rican and Dominican kids in Springfield, I felt more at home—like I was basically back in Puerto Rico. But to really learn the language, I had to step outside that comfort zone. I started spending time with kids from different backgrounds, and I made myself watch everything in English, like TV shows to movies, just to get comfortable with it. That’s what helped me learn so fast.”
Gonzalez: “I had to adjust a lot, it was just completely different from what I was used to. But it was good. I was learning the language, which was really hard at first, and just trying to adapt to everything new here, especially the weather.”
To check more on Solier and Gonzalez ahead of the 2026 Puerto Rico Challenge this weekend, read Kaileigh Grieb’s article on JustBaseball.com.
And to learn more about the Puerto Rico Challenge, visit the tournament’s official website at theprbaseballchallenge.com as well as on Instagram (@pr.baseballchallenge).
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