Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast Alberta Dugout Stories

The 2024 Western Canadian Baseball League season is finally here. 12 teams will be vying for the right to hoist the Harry Hallis Trophy in the middle of August, 7 in Alberta and 5 in Saskatchewan. There are plenty of storylines to get to heading into the season, including the potential of a three-peat for the Okotoks Dawgs, the entrance of the brand new Saskatoon Berries, the return of the Edmonton Prospects, the international flavour of some of the rosters and the youth movement where plenty of local talent will be looking to leave their mark on the league. We have five conversations to kick off the 2024 summer season!

0:55 - ADS co-founder and chief writer Ian Wilson

14:53 - WCBL president Kevin Kvame on new baseballs

23:46 - Saskatoon Berries head coach Joe Carnahan

35:09 - Okotoks Dawgs utilityman Logan Grant

45:31 - Medicine Hat Mavericks veteran Brody Gardner

What a weekend it was in Lethbridge for the Canadian College Baseball Conference World Series. While the weather left something to be desired, the action on the field had a little bit of everything, especially in the final between the University of Fraser Valley Cascades and the Okanagan College Coyotes. In the end, the Cascades pulled out the 10-9 extra innings victory. We chat with head coach and former player Riley Jepson as well as CCBC Pitcher of the Year Josh Berenbaum and Albertans Max Prevost and Eli McKeen, who both played pivotal parts in a ninth inning comeback in the final.

8:43 - Riley Jepson

17:40 - Josh Berenbaum

29:21 - Max Prevost

41:02 - Eli McKeen

The US college season is wrapping up and the summer baseball season is about to begin, so we have a lot to get to both in the news and with our guests. This week, we chat with Edmonton Collegiate Hawks hurler Halen Knoll about this weekend’s CCBC championships and the season so far. Then we head back south to hear the inspiring story of Spruce Grove’s Gavin Fraser, who has been named Second-Team All-Conference and a Gold Glove recipient with Cerro Coso College. And we wrap things up with Dawgs Academy alum Jimmy Dionne, who had a freshman season to remember with Howard College.

7:04 - Halen Knoll

19:37 - Gavin Fraser

39:16 - Jimmy Dionne

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