Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast

It's been a little like drinking out of a fire hydrant lately with the amount of news to talk about each week. We do our best to get through it before we sit down with Valley City State University shortstop Jaden Babiuk (St. Albert) to chat about being named Second-Team All-Conference and heading to the Medicine Hat Mavericks this summer, Prairie Baseball Academy infielder Morgan Halliday (Edmonton) for our weekly CCBC check-in, and Dawgs Academy hurler Michael Yusypchuk (St. Albert) to recap the Best of the West tournament win, his frequent travels with the Baseball Canada Junior National Team, and suiting up with his brother for the Edmonton Riverhawks this summer. 4:30 - Jaden Babiuk 24:24 - Morgan Halliday 40:06 - Michael Yusypchuk

We have a full lineup of news to get to, but the big story of the week has obviously been the performances of Dawgs Academy and Okotoks Dawgs alum Matt Wilkinson. The highlight was a no-hit, six-inning gem for Cleveland's Single-A affiliate, the Lynchburg Hillcats, on April 25 and after five starts, he sports an ERA of 0.35 and 46 strikeouts in just 25+ innings. For a little insight into his arsenal and mindset, we sit down with Dawgs pitching coach Joe Sergent. Then we head to Baseball Alberta where long-time coach Chris James has been busy getting the wheels in motion for the upcoming season on the girls' and women's front. After a year which featured a gold and two bronze medals in national championships, we take a look at the talent across the province and the work being done at the grassroots and more. 7:20 - Joe Sergent 25:25 - Chris James

The University of Calgary Dinos are facing some stiff competition in their quest to repeat as CCBC champions. We sit down with veteran Aiden Szautner to get inside the clubhouse after the first weeks of the season. We also chat with Dawgs Academy alum Jacob Wrubleski about his stellar freshman season at Chandler-Gilbert Community College. And we also hear from Brady Turner of Prep Baseball Report Alberta about the level of talent we have graduating from high school this year and beyond. 5:26 - Aiden Szautner 17:24 - Jacob Wrubleski 33:30 - Brady Turner

From the outstanding performance of Matt Wilkinson to a Canadian Baseball Network College Player of the Week nod for Logan Grant, there was no shortage of storylines we followed this week. So we go through a lengthy news rundown before getting to two guests from the Canadian College Baseball Conference. We start off with Prairie Baseball Academy infielder and CCBC Player of the Week Owen Lucas to talk about his baseball journey, then we're joined by TRU Wolfpack infielder and 2023 Baseball Alberta Millie Warwick/Betty Carveth Dunn Bursary winner Piper Wiklund. 5:39 - Owen Lucas 22:21 - Piper Wiklund

The warm weather is back which is making it feel like baseball season now. We get through a ton of pro and college news headlines, then chat with Edmonton Collegiate Hawks veteran Rejean Bourget (Bonnyville/St. Francis Xavier), UBC Thunderbirds freshman Kyle Yip (Calgary/Vauxhall Academy) and Baseball Canada Junior National Team invitee Eric Hartman (St. Albert/Dawgs Academy) about their seasons so far. 4:49 - Rejean Bourget 20:48 - Kyle Yip 36:15 - Eric Hartman

Baseball season is in full swing with MLB and the minor leagues getting underway. We get caught up on the CCBC as well and chat with Calgary's Ryan Dousett, who is with Okanagan College, then sit down with AHP Academy alum and Indian Hills Community College standout Cole Huebner and Dawgs Academy prospect Tim Piasentin, who is one of many players with Alberta ties named to the Baseball Canada Junior National Team's Extended Spring Training Roster. 3:54 - Ryan Dousett 18:03 - Cole Huebner 33:20 - Tim Piasentin

Not only is it Opening Weekend in Major League Baseball, but the Canadian College Baseball Conference kicks off this weekend as well with all games happening in BC. The University of Calgary Dinos are the defending champions, but both the Prairie Baseball Academy Dawgs and Edmonton Collegiate Hawks are hot on their tails. We get the inside scoop on all things CCBC with Logan Wedgewood and Sean Robbins of The Battery. Then we're joined by Ethan Webster of the Dinos, Zaden Wake of the Dawgs and Reece Devlin of the Hawks to get a look inside each of their dugouts. 5:33 - The Battery hosts 35:16 - Ethan Webster 49:39 - Zaden Wake 1:05:55 - Reece Devlin

We last chatted with Kyle Bloor on Episode 220 of the show as he was in the midst of a great season at Tennessee Wesleyan University, where he ended up going 3-0 with 7 saves in 21 appearances including one start, posting an ERA of 5.04 and 40 strikeouts in 30+ innings of work. Bloor had dreams of going pro, heading to Falmouth of the Cape Cod League hoping to capture the attention of MLB scouts. While he didn't get signed right away, he kept working away at things, and eventually got in front of scouts again over the last few weeks, signing with the Minnesota Twins. See the new story from Canadian Baseball Network's Bob Elliott here.

While the snow is flying outside here in Alberta, several Western Canadian baseball products are soaring at US college programs. We go through a few of the highlights before we're joined by St. Albert Minor Baseball and Dawgs Academy alum Max Hartman (Washington State University), Olds native and St. Joseph's Academy product Jaxon Zanolli (UMary) and we chat with the latest Canadian Baseball Network College Player of the Week and Carnduff, Saskatchewan's own Carter Beck (UMary). 4:12 - Max Hartman 17:07 - Jaxon Zanolli 30:38 - Carter Beck

In an unexpected twist, both guests this week aren't just chasing their baseball dreams, but they are also pursuing educational ventures in engineering. Dawgs Academy grad Ben Hoshizaki is into his sophomore season at Chandler-Gilbert Community College, where he is leading all Canadians in US college programs in stolen bases. We chat with him about the art of the stolen base and much more. Then we catch up with Vauxhall Academy product Cardel Dick, who is a freshman at the University of Omaha Nebraska. We discuss his inside-the-park grand slam, handling a Division I pitching rotation and his family roots. 4:15 - Ben Hoshizaki 26:53 - Cardel Dick

Andrew Albers spent 13 seasons in professional baseball, including parts of five years in the Majors with the Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners. The North Battleford, Saskatchewan product was also a fixture of the Baseball Canada roster, playing in several major events including the Pan Am Games, Baseball World Cup and the 2023 World Baseball Classic. His baseball journey has also come full-circle recently, as the former Saskatoon Yellow Jacket is now back in the city as the pitching coach for the new Saskatoon Berries of the Western Canadian Baseball League. Albers made the trek west to Vauxhall Academy of Baseball for their recent awards banquet where he served as the special guest speaker. Our Ian Wilson was able to track him down for what turned out to be a wonderful conversation.

We had originally planned to head south to Vauxhall Academy of Baseball for their annual banquet and awards last Saturday. Then I ended up catching yet another cold, then Mother Nature dumped a ton of snow on us, rendering us immobile to take in the celebrations. However, we have been able to catch up with a few of the honoured guests from what was, by all accounts, another smashing success. Our Ian Wilson sits down with Wall of Excellence and long-time coach Jim Kotkas for a candid chat about his baseball journey, then we reconnect with Episode #244 guest Brett Getz, who was named this year's winner of the coveted Reno Lizzi Scholarship. 5:26 - Jim Kotkas 30:53 - Brett Getz

It’s hard to believe but it’s been 25 years since the Lethbridge Bulls joined what was then the Saskatchewan Major Baseball League. That decision changed the trajection of the league, which would later become the Western Major Baseball League and is now known as the Western Canadian Baseball League. Take a trip down memory lane with coach Todd Hubka, players Les McTavish and Denny Puszkar and long-time official and now GM Kevin Kvame. 3:29 - Todd Hubka 9:47 - Les McTavish 18:04 - Denny Puszkar 31:02 - Kevin Kvame You can read our full story on the Bulls' first season here.

The US college baseball season is well-underway and several Albertans are getting themselves into the headlines with great performances at all levels. We take a look at some of the best over the past week, then we catch up with Calgary Babe Ruth product and Lindsay Wilson College veteran Cohen Achen as well as Fort McMurray Minor Baseball and Dawgs Academy alum Justin Breen (Southwestern Oklahoma State University) and St. Albert Minor Baseball and AHP Academy product Jason Serafinchon (McCook Community College). 3:31 - Cohen Achen 19:26 - Justin Breen 34:50 - Jason Serafinchon

It's banquet and awards night season and recently, it was Prairie Baseball Academy who spent a night celebrating the year and two new members of the PBA Hall of Fame. Our Ian Wilson catches up with PBA head coach Todd Hubka as well as the two new inductees: Rob Greeno and Rob Watt.

We have an announcement to make: we are expanding and have officially launched Saskatchewan Dugout Stories. To mark the occasion, Dugout Stories co-founder Ian Wilson joins us for a bit of context behind our decision and what he's most excited for. Then we get a "state of the game" conversation with Baseball Sask's Greg Brons.

We're doing things just a little differently this week. With just two weeks left until pitchers and catchers report in MLB, we thought we'd take a look at the expectations of Canada's team, the Toronto Blue Jays, through the lens of three people with ties to Alberta. Sportsnet broadcast and former MLB catcher Buck Martinez was here recently as part of the Blue Jays Academy National Coaches Clinic, Scott Belford is an Alberta comedian who hosts the Walkoff Podcast, and TSN baseball reporter Scott Mitchell is a former Alberta sports journalist who also used to be a substitute on Joe and Ian's slo-pitch team.

Dozens of coaches spent last weekend at Webber Academy, just outside of Calgary, for the Blue Jays Academy National Coaches Clinic. They learned about how they can get the most out of their teams through drills, practices and even game-planning with several high-profile guest speakers including former Blue Jays Pat Borders, Devon White, Buck Martinez and Ernie Whitt (who we chatted with on Episode #258), as well as Baseball Canada Women’s National Team and Vancouver Canadians coach Ashley Stephenson and former MLB hurler and Webber Academy senior director of baseball operations Chris Reitsma. On this episode, we hear from Reitsma, Stephenson, White and Borders. 2:40 - Chris Reitsma 14:05 - Ashley Stephenson 24:17 - Devon White 30:03 - Pat Borders

This one isn't just for our listeners in Alberta. Baseball Canada released its 2023-2028 Strategic Plan in November, and while it might not mean a lot to some, there are a lot of interesting pieces to it, including how the organization plans to grow the sport across the country, evaluating the possibility of a 15U and 23U National Team, and the potential of an Academy National Championship. CEO Jason Dickson joins us to talk about it all, plus we chat about his playing career which included time with the Edmonton Trappers. He also has an Alberta connection for his answer to "which player made you thing 'oh no' on the mound?"

Welcome to the first episode of the 2024 season! While we've seen Old Man Winter return with a vengeance, it's easy to start dreaming about the upcoming summer baseball season. It actually starts with the preparation being done by coaches, aided this year by Blue Jays Academy bringing its annual National Coaches Clinic to Webber Academy in Calgary from January 19-21. TJ Burton from the Blue Jays joins us to set the stage for the event and what people can expect, then we get a bit of a preview of the festivities with long-time Baseball Canada head coach and former MLB catcher Ernie Whitt.