By IAN WILSON
The Lethbridge Bulls have plenty to celebrate this year.
With 2024 marking the 25th anniversary of the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) franchise, the team has a lot planned to promote the ball club and recognize its proud history.
Part of that history includes opening up Alberta to the circuit and setting the league on a path from the Saskatchewan Major Baseball League (SMBL) to the Western Major Baseball League (WMBL), the predecessor of the WCBL.
The Bulls will look to convert that trailblazing history into modern-day success in 2024.
Since winning the WCBL championship in the pandemic-shortened 2021 season, a campaign that saw the league reduced to five Alberta teams, Lethbridge missed the postseason in 2022 and suffered a first-round playoff exit last summer.
They’ll look to find a winning formula this year as they enjoy a look back at all they’ve accomplished over the last quarter century.
IN THE DUGOUT
Taking the Bulls by the horn this season is Ryan MacDonald, who follows the tenure of skipper Chance Wheatley. MacDonald was an assistant coach with Wheatley – who joins the coaching staff of the Saskatoon Berries this year – the last three seasons.
Spitz Stadium is familiar territory for MacDonald, who played five seasons for the Bulls before he was named the club’s head coach in the fall of 2013.
“The Ryan MacDonald stamp is I don’t like to lose,” he told Lethbridge Herald reporter Dale Woodard at an introductory press conference that year.
“I don’t like to lose and I like to play the game the right way. I’m going to strive to push my guys to play the game the right way … as long as they play the game the right way and play it hard every single day, that’s all I can ask. That’s what I’m looking for.”
The Nova Scotian steered Lethbridge to its first WCBL title in 2015, during which time the Bulls were undefeated in the playoffs. He was also a member of the coaching staff during their 2021 championship campaign and he’s been a mainstay in the Windy City as a long-time coach with the Prairie Baseball Academy (PBA).
Joining MacDonald is pitching coach Josh Burgmann. The Nanaimo, British Columbia native – who was also a part of the coaching staff in 2023 – is not far removed from a successful collegiate career with the University of Washington.
Following his time with the Huskies, he was a fifth-round draft selection of the Chicago Cubs in 2019. He appeared in nine Single-A games for the Eugene Emeralds before injuries caught up to him.
“I have no regrets … I love the game and I love what the game gave me personally, I got to travel the world and play against some of the greatest players,” Burgmann told Alberta Dugout Stories in an interview.
“I’m grateful for the time that I got to play and I wouldn’t change anything about my playing career.”
The Vauxhall Academy of Baseball graduate also coaches at PBA alongside MacDonald and he works as the advanced scout for the Nanaimo Clippers of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL).
Also on the coaching staff Chris Vlaj and Myles Fletcher. Vlaj is an assistant coach with the Victoria Golden Tide in the Canadian College Baseball Conference (CCBC) and Fletcher – who was on the roster of the first Lethbridge Bulls team in 1999 – steps in as the bench coach.
ON THE MOUND
Cole Aguire will be among the pitchers receiving guidance from Burgmann. The 6-foot-4 Calgarian got into 11 games for the Bulls last summer and started in nine of those matchups. The righthander registered a 1-4 record with a 5.33 earned run average (ERA) and he struck out 49 batters in 52-plus innings of work.
Shaye McTavish – the son of Les McTavish, who played for and coached the Lethbridge Bulls before helping establish Vauxhall Academy of Baseball – will be back on the mound at Spitz Stadium. The younger McTavish enters his third summer with the Bulls. He has seen game action in 22 contests out of the bullpen, putting together a 3-2 record, nabbing a save and recording 28 strikeouts over 27.2 innings pitched.
Javier De Alejandro, who tossed a no-hitter for the Bulls last summer, returns for a third WCBL campaign. The San Antonio, Texas southpaw has logged 103-plus innings over 26 games for Lethbridge since 2022. He’s worked as both a starter and a reliever and has a 5-7 record, a 5.23 ERA and 83 Ks.
Local product Levi Abbott rejoins Lethbridge for the first time since the team’s championship season in 2021. The 6-foot-5 righty attending Canisius University went 4-2 that summer in the WCBL with a 2.88 ERA and 66 Ks in 43-plus innings as a starting pitcher. Abbott has been a K-per-inning pitcher over his four years with the Golden Griffins. He was also named to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) All-Academic Team in 2022 and 2023.
Also back in Lethbridge for another summer is Aidan Newton, a righty from Calgary. Newton has taken the mound in 26 games over two seasons with the Bulls, going 5-7 in his 74.1 innings.
Vauxhall Academy grad Drew Lenehan is a freshman at the University of Nebraska Omaha, who hails from Woodstock, New Brunswick. The 6-foot-5 hurler is one of the right-handed Maritime options available to the coaching staff, as is Nova Scotian Matthew Mackenzie.
A pair of arms from Louisiana are heading north this summer to chuck pitches for the Bulls, including Riley Bruton of Southern Arkansas University and Brandon Carter, who attends Northwestern State University.
Also new to the team are Zane Leyden, a Nebraska righty reliever who attends Bellevue University; Texan Evan Harbach from the Colorado School of Mines; Andrew Kithil, a reliever at Stephen F. Austin State University; and Montana’s Luke Dowdy, a righty with the University of Mary North Dakota. Reliever George Naramore joins Lethbridge from Everett Community College.
Meanwhile, Donovan Gamez is a right-handed pitcher from Our Lady of the Lake University in Texas. Gamez has split his time as a starter and a reliever and has 39 Ks in 35-plus innings during his two seasons with the Saints.
Lefty Jake Maniago and righty Brayden DeWitt – both PBA players – are also expected to take the mound for the Bulls this summer. DeWitt is 1-2 with a 3.41 ERA and 30 Ks over five starts and 29 innings in the Canadian College Baseball Conference (CCBC) this year, while Maniago is 4-1 with a 3.29 ERA and 42 strikeouts in his 41 innings and six starts.
BEHIND THE PLATE
A couple of Canucks will serve as battery mates for the Lethbridge pitchers.
Noah McNeil hails from Canada’s capital city of Ottawa in Ontario and attends Lethbridge College. He’s one of many PBA pupils on the team.
University of British Columbia (UBC) Thunderbird Kyle Yip is a Vauxhall Academy grad from Calgary who plays in the outfield and as a catcher. In 33 games for UBC this season, Yip has a .275 batting average, 19 runs, 13 runs batted in (RBI), three homers and five stolen bases.
Panama’s Adonis Bernal is another catcher/outfielder on the roster. Bernal has played two seasons at New Mexico Military Institute, where he has a .379 batting average, 86 runs, 88 RBI, 27 doubles, 13 long balls and 10 steals in 93 games and 293 at bats.
AROUND THE HORN
Several returning veteran players will anchor the Spitz Stadium infield.
Middle infielder Kalem Haney is back for a fourth season with the Bulls. He’s played in 121 games for Lethbridge since 2021. In 453 WCBL at bats, the Vauxhall Academy product and 2023 WCBL All-Star Game MVP has a .305 batting average, 33 stolen bases, 96 runs and 50 RBI. This year with the University of Mary Marauders, Haney was named a Gold Glove second baseman and First Team All-Conference player.
Nova Scotian Nick Gravel also returns for a fourth summer in Lethbridge. The lefty batter has suited up in 145 games with the Bulls and scored 101 runs while swiping 27 bags. The PBA product also has 68 RBI and a .277 batting average.
Utility player Jack Kalisky is back after serving as a two-way threat in 2023. In 36 games at the plate, the Texan scored 23 runs, swatted three homers and knocked eight doubles while batting .259 for the Bulls. Kalisky also worked out of the bullpen and picked up three saves, while registering a 3.57 ERA and 25 Ks in 22.2 innings.
Bellevue University students Ryan David, Scott Hansen and Tyler Monroe have been recruited for infield duty. Monroe was named a Second Team All-NSAA player with the Bruins after putting up solid numbers in his 41 games at Bellevue this year. The Nebraskan registered a .333 batting average, a .431 on-base percentage, 32 runs and 20 RBI.
Winnipeg’s Zaden Wake (PBA) has also signed on for infield work. He has been a veteran presence for Prairie Baseball Academy this spring.
IN THE OUTFIELD
A trio of returning outfielders are expected to be key contributors defensively and with the bat.
Josh Kabayama, a local product, has played in 75 games for the Bulls since 2021. He has a .280 batting average, 58 runs, 33 RBI and 18 stolen bases. In his two seasons at the University of Mount Olive, the righty batter has a .295 batting average over 105 at bats.
Lefty batter Carlin Dick returns for a third season with Lethbridge. The Canisius University slugger has 36 runs, 25 RBI, 14 doubles and 10 stolen bases in 71 games for the Bulls. The Vauxhall Academy grad was named to the All-MAAC Rookie Team in 2021 and the MAAC All-Academic Team in 2022 and 2023.
Southern Arkansas University’s Mikey McGinnis will look to agitate pitchers for a second straight summer in the WCBL. The Texan rapped out 46 hits in 37 games in 2023 while scoring 21 runs and producing 23 RBI.
Joining these veterans in the outfield is Roberto Chaparro, who attends El Paso Community College in Texas.
Home Ballpark: Spitz Stadium
Home Opener: 6:35 p.m., Wednesday, June 5th vs. Medicine Hat Mavericks
2023 Regular Season Results: Third place in West Division with 31 wins & 25 losses
2023 Playoff Results: Swept in first round by Sylvan Lake Gulls
View 2024 Lethbridge Bulls Roster
WCBL Championships: 2015 & 2021
Mascot: T-Bone
