Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast

We know we said we'd take a bit of a break. But then Ian texted and said "I have an idea." So we're flipping the script where Ian plays the role of host while Joe answers a few of his questions about the experience of going to the Blue Jays Academy Canadian Futures Showcase. We talk about the state of the game in this country and get into how this has been a banner year for baseball on the prairies and, by extension, Dugout Stories.
If you haven't already, make sure to check out Joe's editorial with a few more of his thoughts.

After a whirlwind few days, the Blue Jays Academy Canadian Futures Showcase has come to an end. Maple, Ontario's Jalen Jacob is the new Home Run Derby champion while Team New Blue won the championship with a decisive 6-1 win over Team Royal. We chat with the new home run king, four members of the New Blue Crew, and the new Showcase MVP, Dayne Liske.
1:32 - Jalen Jacob
3:23 - Gabe Fink
5:50 - Hudson Harding
8:19 - Zach MacDonald
11:00 - Cohen Miller
13:34 - Dayne Liske

The round robin has wrapped up and it all comes down to the Home Run Derby and the championship at the Blue Jays Academy Canadian Futures Showcase. We have a total of seven guests joining us on the show this time around to get their perspectives on the tournament and how things have gone, including Dayne Liske (Drayton Valley/Gulls Prep), Keaton Lejan (Saskatoon/Going Yard Academy), Jake Trask (Nova Scotia/Dawgs Academy), Gabe Fink (Edmonton/AHP Academy), Tighe Houghton (Calgary/Webber Academy), Jake Carriere (Abbottsford), and former Lethbridge Bulls catcher/current Vancouver Canadians strength and conditioning coach Noah Or.
1:18 - Dayne Liske
3:30 - Keaton Lejan
7:11 - Jake Trask
12:04 - Gabe Fink
17:36 - Tighe Houghton
24:29 - Jake Carriere
30:17 - Noah Or

We continue our daily coverage from the Blue Jays Academy Canadian Futures Showcase with another quintet of guests. Hear from Hudson Nikkel (Vauxhall Academy), Riley Wolbeck (Leduc/Dawgs Academy), Zach MacDonald (Stettler/Webber Academy), Ira Rootman (Toronto/California) and coach Lars Bauck (Moose Jaw/Prairie Baseball Academy/Mid Island Pirates).
1:29 - Hudson Nikkel
3:55 - Riley Wolbeck
9:10 - Zach MacDonald
15:06 - Ira Rootman
21:10 - Lars Bauck
 

The first official day of the Blue Jays Academy Canadian Futures Showcase is in the books. The players took part in Scout Day with pitching, hitting and fielding drills to show off their talents, then it was onto a pair of games. We'll see games all day on Friday and Saturday before the Home Run Derby and Championship on Sunday. We're focusing on the athletes here on the show, starting with reigning Home Run Derby champion Daril Rodriguez (Red Deer/Gulls Prep), then hearing from Brooks Froese (Red Deer/Dawgs Academy), Xavier Lampshire (Edmonton/ATHX Academy), Dante Dewey (Victoria/AHP Academy) and coach Andrew Albers (North Battleford/Going Yard Academy).
1:38 - Daril Rodriguez
6:11 - Brooks Froese
12:15 - Xavier Lampshire
16:57 - Dante Dewey
20:49 - Andrew Albers

Welcome to the first of our daily shows from Vancouver as the Blue Jays Academy Canadian Futures Showcase gets underway today (Thursday). We'll be bringing you conversations from the field throughout the next few days. Before we get there, we bring you a trio of conversations that Joe had with rising stars who he wrote about as part of the tournament's program. Hear from Vauxhall Academy product Calum Andersen as well as Ontario Blue Jays sluggers Jalen Jacob and Mikey Batiste.
2:10 - Calum Andersen
11:21 - Jalen Jacob
25:54 - Mikey Batiste

The countdown is on to the Blue Jays Academy Canadian Futures Showcase. For a trio of young athletes, it will be a great way to cap off a memorable year on the field as all three helped Alberta claim bronze at the Baseball Canada Cup earlier this summer, among other great events. Hear from Nathan Bailey (Edmonton/AHP Academy), Josh Deloise (Edmonton/Vauxhall Academy) and Lucas Carroll (Calgary/Webber Academy) as they get ready to pack their bags for Vancouver. They also share their respective journeys in the game and much more.
5:15 - Nathan Bailey
18:52 - Josh Deloise
33:19 - Lucas Carroll

The season might be winding down but we are still checking in with a tonne of news before hearing from a trio of first-time guests. Hear from Baseball Sask product Keaton Lejan (Saskatoon/Going Yard Academy) and New Brunswick native Nate Hallihan (Fredericton/Dawgs Academy) as they get ready for the Blue Jays Academy Canadian Futures Showcase. Then we hear from All-WCL Second Team reliever Logan Colville (St. Albert) of the Edmonton Riverhawks about his season and getting to play close to home during his college days.
6:15 - Keaton Lejan
21:19 - Nate Hallihan
34:20 - Logan Colville

Time to get back into the regular swing of things with Thursday episodes after a crazy busy summer. We put the wraps on the week with a catch-up on the news before a trio of national medal winners. Hear from Baseball Canada Cup bronze medalist Mac Warawa (Innisfail/Webber Academy), Baseball Canada 16U silver medalist Gracy Hadwin (Consort/Neutral Hills Academy) and Men's National bronze medalist Tyler McWillie (Watrous, Sask./Red Deer Riggers).
6:19 - Mac Warawa
21:01 - Gracy Hadwin
32:56 - Tyler McWillie

It's hard to believe but the 2026 baseball season is winding down and fast. One of the surest signs of that is that the Western Canadian Baseball League campaign is now over after the Saskatoon Berries clinched the Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy with a two-game sweep over the Sylvan Lake Gulls. Joe and Ian sit down to talk about how they will remember the year and things to come as we head towards 2027. We also hear from league president Kevin Kvame on his thoughts with a busy offseason upon us with several major discussions coming to the table.

For the first time in their three-year history, the Saskatoon Berries are Western Canadian Baseball League champions. A record crowd packed into NexGen Patch at Cairns Field to witness the Berries complete the two-game sweep of the Sylvan Lake Gulls with a convincing 11-1 win. We recap each of the games and some of the highlights, then hear from seven players as well as head coach Joe Carnahan and president Steve Hildebrand.
2:56 – Ethan Murdoch
10:22 – Wesley Shackelford
13:35 – Aiden Kilshaw
16:13 – Nathan Houston
19:31 – Merek Yeager
23:09 – Brooks Jones
25:18 – Colin Plain
28:48 – Joe Carnahan
32:08 – Steve Hildebrand

For the first time in their three-year history, the Saskatoon Berries are heading to the Western Canadian Baseball League championship. After being taken the distance with the Regina Red Sox in the first round, they came up with the sweep of the Moose Jaw Miller Express to claim the East Division crown. We take a look back at that series and ahead to the championship against the Sylvan Lake Gulls with Ethan Murdoch, Nathan Houston and head coach Joe Carnahan.
2:27 - Ethan Murdoch
16:34 - Nathan Houston
25:04 - Joe Carnahan