Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast

Episode 318: Austin Collins, Willis Simair & Mike Steed

We make our way through a lengthy list of news items then welcome a trio of great guests to the show. We start things off with Dawgs Academy hurler and Central Arizona College commit Austin Collins. Then we head east to Going Yard Academy where pitcher Willis Simair has committed to Garden City Community College. And we wrap up the show with long-time coach Mike Steed, who is now the pitching coach with the Atlanta Braves' new Double-A affiliate in Columbus. He was through Fort McMurray in January for a coaching clinic and we thought it would be great getting to know his baseball journey.
4:37 - Austin Collins
18:49 - Willis Simair
35:14 - Mike Steed

Episode 317: The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame's Class of 2025

We're proud to bring you a very special edition of the show this week as we celebrate the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame's Class of 2025. Toronto Blue Jays great Jose Bautista headlines this year's class along with former big leaguer Erik Bedard, Junior National Team head coach Greg Hamilton and former Women's National Team great Amanda Asay. The Hall's Veteran's Committee also selected Saskatchewan native and All-American Girls Professional League star Arleene Noga and former Montreal city councillor Gerry Snyder. The ceremony is set for June 7. Hear from Bautista and Hamilton as well as family members of Asay, Noga and Snyder in a conference call held on Feb. 12.
1:16 - Jose Bautista
8:04 - Greg Hamilton
12:18 - Amanda Asay's parents Loris and George
21:09 - Arleene Noga's daughter Carol Lee (Noga) Scott
24:23 - Gerry Snyder's daughter Arlene Kenrick and son Gary Snyder

Episode 316: Kingston Besuijen, Tanner Morrow & Tanner Spencer

It's been a busy week for baseball in Alberta, so plenty of storylines to pass your way in the news. Then we have a trio of great conversations to get you into the weekend. We have a pair of high school players who will soon be going to college in Dawgs Academy product Kingston Besuijen (College of San Mateo) and Red Deer Minor Baseball/St. Joseph Academy product Tanner Morrow (University of Pikeville). Then we wrap things up with Craik, Saskatchewan native and Vauxhall Academy alum Tanner Spencer, who is now the head coach at the University of Mary.
4:12 - Kingston Besuijen
14:13 - Tanner Morrow
29:19 - Tanner Spencer

Episode 315: A Tribute to New PBA Hall of Famer Todd Hubka

This is a special edition of the show that we are dropping on this Tuesday as, over the weekend, Prairie Baseball Academy held its annual banquet and celebration of baseball. It was also a night to honour a Southern Alberta baseball legend. Todd Hubka has been with the program going on 28 years now and is now entering the 15th season as head coach. He helped guide them to seven-straight CCBC championships and has a career .580 winning percentage. For all that, he was this year’s lone induction to the PBA Hall of Fame. 
1:28 - Les McTavish
13:10 - Ryan MacDonald
25:50 - Todd Hubka

Episode 314: Stubby Clapp

He is a Canadian baseball legend and the first base coach of the St. Louis Cardinals. We are, of course, talking about Stubby Clapp. A true “Mr. Hustle” for Canada for years, he made it to the MLB with a 23-game stint in 2001 with the Cards. The 11-year pro’s final two years came here in Alberta with the Edmonton Cracker-Cats in 2005-2006 (including the infamous brawl against the Calgary Vipers) before he went into coaching. He’s been on the Canadian Olympic Team, two World Baseball Classics, and was a key piece of that amazing 2015 Gold Medal performance at the Pan Am Games. For all his accomplishments, Clapp was inducted to the Baseball Canada Wall of Excellence on January 11. The Windsor, Ontario native spent some time with us recently to discuss his journey, his memories of Edmonton and what it meant to be recognized by Baseball Canada.

Episode 313: Matt Lloyd, Adam Macko & Matt Coutney

Welcome to the start of the 2025 podcast season! As always, we start off with some of the big news items from the past few weeks, then we head to the minor leagues for a trio of guests. Dawgs Academy and Okotoks Dawgs alum Matt Lloyd checks in after a great first season with the Double-A Springfield Cardinals, Vauxhall Academy product Adam Macko looks back at a year that started with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats and ended with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, and St. Francis Xavier Academy grad Matt Coutney reflects on a 2024 split between the High-A Tri-City Dust Devils and the Double-A Rocket City Trash Pandas.
4:21 - Matt Lloyd
19:23 - Adam Macko
43:12 - Matt Coutney

2025 Podcast Season Announcement

We are excited to announce the first official episode of the 2025 baseball season will be hitting the airwaves on January 23! 2024 was an outstanding year and we can't wait to make this year even better with more stories, more roadtrips, more collaborations and more great guests on the show.  Make sure to subscribe now wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts.

Episode 312: The 2024 Season Finale

It's hard to believe that we are putting the wraps on yet another season of #ADSPodcast. Thank YOU for checking us out, whether it was one episode or all 50+ this season. Our Ian Wilson stops by for a recap of the recent Western Canadian Baseball League Annual General Meeting, then we hear from Saskatoon Berries president Steve Hildebrand and new Swift Current 57s president Jamie LeBlanc. Then Ian returns as we look back at our favourite stories of 2024 and what's exciting us heading into 2025. 
3:38 - Ian Wilson on WCBL AGM
18:04 - Steve Hildebrand
26:02 - Jamie LeBlanc
32:27 - Ian Wilson on 2024 highlights and 2025 look-ahead

Episode 311: ADS/SDS All-College Teams w/ Connor Crowson, Tom Poole & Payton McHarg

It's a big day with a new show and brand new stories on both of our websites to celebrate the unveiling of the fifth annual ADS All-College Team and the first annual SDS All-College Team. After the news headlines, we look quickly at each of the rosters, then are joined by Connor Crowson (Okotoks) of the University of Montevallo, Tom Poole (Calgary) of Dallas Baptist University and Payton McHarg (Saskatoon) of Washburn University.
3:28 - Connor Crowson
16:20 - Tom Poole
30:11 - Payton McHarg

Episode 310: Baseball Alberta Awards w/ Danielle Moffat, Luke Schmitt & Kaitlyn Ross

Awards season in baseball around Alberta rolled into high gear recently with a pair of major galas last weekend. We looked back at the Little League Alberta event earlier this week, and now we head to the Baseball Alberta festivities in Edmonton. We start things off with executive director Danielle Moffat, who says it was another banner year for baseball in the province. Then we get to know Baseball Alberta Elite League Player of the Year Luke Schmitt and catch up with Women's Open Player of the Year Kaitlyn Ross.
3:17 - Danielle Moffat
17:13 - Luke Schmitt
32:15 - Kaitlyn Ross

Episode 309: Little League Alberta Awards Banquet w/ Kevin Kvame & Katie Reyes

It's awards season in Alberta's baseball world with two major events held this past weekend by Baseball Alberta and Little League Alberta. We will wrap-up the Baseball Alberta awards later this week, but we open things up with the Little League Alberta awards. Our Joe McFarland hosted a session on traditional and social media before serving as emcee for the banquet. After it was all over, he sat down for a "state of the union" with president Kevin Kvame then continued his fireside chat with former Little League World Series competitor and current Vancouver Canadians athletic therapist Katie Reyes.
1:27 - Kevin Kvame
12:15 - Katie Reyes

Episode 308: Tristan Peters & Tyler Herron

We open up the show with a look at the news headlines, including Joe's pick for the new Edmonton Prospects name, which you can enter their contest here. Then he chats with a pair of Tampa Bay Rays prospects: Dawgs Academy and Okotoks Dawgs alum Tristan Peters and Grande Prairie Minor Baseball and St. Albert Minor Baseball alum Tyler Herron.
5:06 - Tristan Peters
22:21 - Tyler Herron