Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast

If you thought 2025 was a busy year for baseball in our provinces with all kinds of highlights, we have no doubt that 2026 will be even better. With a wide array of storylines to follow, from the grassroots to the big leagues, we are excited to announce that our coverage on the show will begin with the 2026 season premiere on January 22. So make sure to hit subscribe or like the show on your app so you don't miss a moment of the ac...

It's finally here! Thank you for your patience as Joe battled through a sickness recently, which led to a delay in the final episode of the 2025 season. He catches us up on all the news from the past couple of weeks (including some personal news courtesy of Baseball Canada) then Ian Wilson stops by for a recap of the recent WCBL annual general meeting. We also hear from league president Kevin Kvame before we get into our highlights...

He’s a man who really needs no introduction. Justin Morneau is a former MLB MVP, All-Star, Silver Slugger, Batting Champ and more. The New Westminster, B.C. native had an 18-year pro career, which included a stop with the Edmonton Trappers in 2002. Most recently, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame legend was made the namesake of the new Morneau Cup, the academy national championship through Baseball Canada, which is playing out in ...

It was a packed house at the Wyndham Edmonton Hotel and Conference Centre, as the best of the year were celebrated. From players and coaches to volunteers and organizations, it was great to hear of all the successes of 2025 and look ahead to what 2026 had in store. We have a full rundown of the festivities and list of award winners here. On the show this week, you will hear from Women's Player of the Year Julianna Scott (Calgary), ...

It was an historic week as the Women's Pro Baseball League held its first-ever draft to start putting rosters together for its inaugural season. A total of 120 players were selected including some of the biggest names in the game like Kelsie Whitmore and Ayami Soto. 20 Canadians had their names called, including Edmonton's Madison Willan, Fort McMurray's Sydney Barry, and Saskatoon's Braidy Birdsall and Addie Ziebart. In this speci...

What a year it’s been for all three of our guests this week. Dawgs Academy hurler Josh Mills (Leduc) played for Alberta at the Canada Summer Games, the Canadian Futures Showcase and most recently suited up with the Baseball Canada Junior National Team. Baseball Sask Female Player of the Year Taylor Schueller (Saskatoon) also went to the Canada Games as well as repped Saskatchewan at the 19U Women’s Nationals and the Women’s Nationa...

After unfortunately missing this year's special Alberta Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2025 Induction Ceremony, we circled back to bring you some conversations with the baseball people recognized. Last week, we chatted with executive director Tracey Kinsella and the families of inductees Reno Lizzi and Mel Kowalchuk. This week, we sit down with inductees Orv Franchuk and Dr. Randy Gregg to talk about their journeys in baseball and wh...

After unfortunately missing this year's special Alberta Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2025 Induction Ceremony, we circled back to bring you some conversations with the baseball people recognized. We start this episode by chatting with the Hall's executive director, Tracey Kinsella, before we hear from Reno Lizzi's daughter, Brenda, and Mel Kowalchuk's son, Darin. This is the first of a two-part series as we will chat with fellow ind...

Baseball Sask celebrated the best of 2025 with its annual awards banquet on Oct. 18 and we bring you a trio of the winners on this week's show. Hear from Male Player of the Year Kane Kaufmann (Regina), Junior Female Player of the Year Rylee Lenius (Saskatoon) and Builder of the Year Justin Eiswirth (Regina). Check out our new story about the Baseball Sask Awards here.

3:40 - Kane Kaufmann

14:47 - Rylee Lenius

24:59 - Justin Eiswirt...

it’s admittedly been a while since we last caught up with Oyen’s Gavin Logan. After being selected in the ninth round of the 2022 MLB Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks, it’s been a rollercoaster couple of years as he’s tried to make a name for himself. The Dawgs Academy and Okotoks Dawgs alum had a breakthrough of sorts this year, starting the season with the High-A Hillsboro Hops before getting an unexpected call to the Triple-A R...

Garrett Hawkins may have had one of the more unforgettable 2025 seasons of anyone out there. Fresh off Tommy John surgery, which sidelined him for most of 2023 and all of 2024, we weren’t sure how he would bounce back. The Biggar, Saskatchewan native and Vauxhall Academy grad was out-of-this-world good, starting the year with San Diego’s High-A team in Fort Wayne, going 8-1 with eight saves and a 1.43 ERA in 32 relief appearances. ...

We're back after a week hiatus to bring you all the news and notes from the baseball world in Alberta as the season winds down. Then we take a look at the Western Canadian Baseball League awards, which have been unveiled through a series of announcements. Our Ian Wilson stops by for a recap plus a look back on the year that was before we hear from Most Outstanding Pitcher Levi Abbott of the Lethbridge Bulls, Most Outstanding Canadi...

The baseball season might be winding down, but still plenty to talk about. We start with Wednesday’s big news from Baseball Canada that the inaugural Morneau Cup will be hosted by the Okotoks Dawgs, bringing together 16 of the best academy programs in Canada. We hear from Tyler Hollick of the Dawgs about how we got here and what’s to come over the next few months. Then we recap the Canadian Futures Showcase with Home Run Derby cham...

It's been a while since we've done a one-guest episode, but when a former Toronto Blue Jays prospect comes calling, especially when the current team is almost clinching the AL East pennant, you take advantage of the situation. Shane Dawson, Jr. was a 17th-round pick of the Jays in 2012, spending six years in the organization before handing it up after the 2019 season. He came back home to do some coaching, where he is now a head co...

The season might be winding down but there's still plenty to talk about and several athletes we want to introduce you to before the year is up. We get through the week that was in news, then we hear from Abby Szilagyi (Okotoks) after she helped Team Alberta claim silver at the Canada Summer Games. Then we head to the Canadian Futures Showcase, which starts next week, to get to know Zach MacDonald (Central Alberta) of Webber Academy...

We take a look back at a busy week of news before hearing from another trio of great guests. We get to know Dawgs Academy utilityman Ethan Renaud (Okotoks) and Vauxhall Academy outfielder Rogan Rivard (Bonnyville) as they get ready for the upcoming Canadian Futures Showcase in Toronto. Then we check back in with Reece Hemmerling (Beaumont) after he was named an All-West Coast League Honorable Mention for his outstanding season with...

We take a look back at another busy week of baseball as we look at some of the big pro storylines as well as the national championship season wrapping up. Then we go a little more in-depth with the Canada Summer Games, which was historic for having Women's Baseball finally added to the docket. To make things even better, Alberta captured the silver medal in the event. We hear from first base player Sydney Klebanosky (Spruce Grove),...

The summer college season has wrapped up and national champions are coming to a close, but that doesn't mean we don't have plenty to talk about around the baseball world in Alberta and Saskatchewan. We sit down for a conversation with Western Canadian Baseball League president Kevin Kvame to recap the season and look ahead to what might be big topics for the offseason. Then we get to know Drayton Valley's Dayne Liske after he repre...

The 2025 Western Canadian Baseball League championship was a baseball lover's dream as it had a little bit of everything from start to finish including lead changes, momentum swings, contentious calls, a steal of home in extra innings and much more. In the end, it was the Regina Red Sox coming away with their first championship since 2012, after what was an emotional year. We take a look back at the series before sitting down with ...