By IAN WILSON
If you build it, they will come.
But you need to have patience, as the Edmonton Prospects have learned over the last few years.
Since the franchise left Re/Max Field in the provincial capital to undertake the construction of Myshak Metro Ballpark in nearby Spruce Grove, the Prospects have had to find a temporary home in Sherwood Park, where they played in 2021, 2022 and at the Centennial Park Diamond No. 9 they’ll call home again this season.
The franchise made the difficult decision to skip the 2023 Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) season to focus efforts on the new ballpark project, which has experienced delays since it was announced.
They return to the WCBL this season, however, and are ready to play ball yet again.
“Sherwood Park has been incredible to deal with the last four years as they have taken the whole Metro Edmonton concept to heart and understand that the continued existence and growth of the Edmonton Prospects is a good thing for grassroots baseball, not only in the capital city, but throughout the entire Metro Edmonton and Northern Alberta Regions,” said Patrick Cassidy, the managing partner of the Prospects, in an October 2023 press release.
“We also felt that having the new Saskatoon Berries team about to play their inaugural season in 2024, that it was really important for the league from a scheduling standpoint to maintain two evenly-distributed divisions.”
IN THE DUGOUT
With all the potential for off-field distractions involving the new digs in Spruce Grove, the Prospects will lean on the steadying influence of long-time head coach and assistant general manager Jordan Blundell.
The program director and head coach at Evolution Baseball was hired by the Prospects in 2018. Blundell was the named the coach of the year in the Western Major Baseball League (WMBL) – the predecessor of the WCBL – with the Sherwood Park Dukes in 2008. He also spent a dozen years as the head coach of the Vancouver Island University (VIU) Mariners, where he won a Canadian College Baseball Conference (CCBC) title in 2009.
Geoff Freeborn, the founder of Sidearm Nation and a former coach at the University of Calgary, joins the coaching staff of the Prospects as an assistant.
ON THE MOUND
The hill toppers for the Prospects will be key to picking up wins for the WCBL ball club.
Of their southpaw options, one is Langley, B.C. lefty Jacob Canuel, a reliever at Taft College who had three saves and 17 strikeouts in 18 appearances and 24-plus innings this season.
Jackson State University senior Garrett VanDeventer is another left-throwing alternative. The starting pitcher from Kansas logged 73 innings and went 6-3 with 50 Ks and a 5.55 earned run average (ERA) in 2024.
When it comes to right-handed pitching on the roster, the Prospects have a pair of Colby Community College hurlers ready to contribute. Kohle Huber of Saskatchewan was a K-per-inning pitcher with the Trojans in his 32 innings for the Trojans this year, while Spruce Grove’s Keegan McNeil picked up 23 strikeouts in 19 innings of work as both a starter and a reliever.
A few British Columbia pitchers will also be looked to for quality innings, including Vancouverites Tyler Sharples and Ryan Derbawka, and Abbotsford arm Travis McDougall.
Calgarian Karter Anderson joins the team out of the William Woods University (WWU) program. The Vauxhall Baseball Academy grad has pitched limited innings for the Owls over the last two years.
American righthanders include Josh Higgins, C.J. Lewis, Alden Norquist and Eli Smock. Lewis had a 3.45 ERA, two saves and 27 strikeouts in 28.2 innings at Jackson State University this year, while Norquist logged 32 relief appearances and 29-plus innings at the University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma over the last two seasons. Smock is a 6-foot-3 Illinois native who worked as a reliever at Southwest Baptist University in 2023 and then as a starter for the Bearcats this season. Smock recorded 54 strikeouts in his 71 innings.
Drawing in from the University of Taipei in Taiwan is Ying-Jui Chen, while Brandon Russell is originally from Freeport in the Bahamas. At Brewton-Parker College this year, Russell went 2-3 with 47 Ks and a 5.57 ERA in 42 innings, which he racked up over 10 appearances and nine starts.
BEHIND THE PLATE
Jordan Singleton is expected to be one of the catchers working with the pitchers on the Prospects. The 6-foot-4 lefty slugger has been a consistent hitter at the University of Jamestown the last two years. In his 94 games with the Jimmies, Singleton posted a .363 batting average, .490 on-base percentage, 15 homers and 77 runs batted in (RBI) over 262 at bats.
Singleton will split time with Josh Cote, a sophomore from Midland, Ontario who swung a heavy bat at Northeastern Junior College in Colorado. In 54 games, Cote belted 21 home runs and produced 65 RBI while batting .337 this season. He was named a Region 9 First Team All-Conference player in back-to-back seasons.
Spruce Grove native Nick Hagen, who attends Antelope Valley Community College, is listed on the roster as both a catcher and an outfielder. During his two years as a Marauder, Hagen has played in 51 games and registered a .449 on-base percentage.
AROUND THE HORN
Californian Zach Barnao is slotted in at first base for Edmonton. During 20 games at Regis University this year, Barnao had a .413 batting average and 22 RBI.
He’ll be joined on the team by another American infielder, Xavier Hernandez, who calls Las Vegas, Nevada home. The sophomore played 26 games for the Cerro Coso Coyotes in 2023-24 and picked up nine hits and eight RBI over 53 at bats.
Some of the infield has an international component to it. Daniel Monti is from Milan in Italy and Lachlan Smith is an Australian who is an Odessa College commit. At Sonoma State University, Monti has played in 75 games the last two years. The senior has a .405 on-base percentage, 37 RBI and 51 runs in 236 at bats. Monti was named a 2nd Team All-Conference selection by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA).
Local talent inked to tackle infield duty includes Spruce Grove’s Gavin Fraser and Edmontonian Morgan Halliday.
Halliday is a first baseman with the PBA Dawgs, who had a .323 batting average, 11 runs and 11 RBI in 22 regular-season CCBC tilts in 2024.
Meanwhile, Fraser appeared in 51 games at Cerro Coso Community College since 2022 and posted a .329 batting average, a .435 on-base percentage, 22 RBI and 47 runs scored. He is a 2nd Team All-Conference Gold Glover.
IN THE OUTFIELD
A trio of British Columbia products will bolster the outfield of the Prospects.
Noah Brooks is a student at the University of Pikeville (.281 batting average, 29 runs, 34 RBI, seven homers in 121 at bats), while Elijah Olaybal – of Langley, B.C. – played in 40 games at Taft College. Olaybal had 29 runs, 28 RBI and 10 stolen bases at Taft.
Ladner’s Ryan McCarthy got into 37 games at Central Washington University this season and batted .265 with 22 RBI for the Wildcats.
Dillon Bowie is a Spruce Grove native who plays for VIU in the CCBC. The right-handed batter had 17 hits and 15 runs in 29 regular-season contests with the Mariners this season.
A pair of Americans are also expected to see time in the outfield this summer at Sherwood Park. Jonluke Hobdy, a sophomore at Cerro Coso Community College, and Brady Kreutzer, who plays at Fort Hays State University (FHSU), have signed on with the team. Hobdy is batting .336 with a .401 on-base percentage in his 80 games over two seasons with the Coyotes – he also collected 91 runs, 72 RBI and 15 steals. During his three years at FHSU, Kreutzer has appeared in 98 games and has a .304 batting average, 17 homers, 79 runs, 65 RBI and 11 stolen bases. Hobdy was named a 1st Team All-Conference player while Kreutzer was a 3rd Team selection for the All-MIAA (Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association) squad.
Home Ballpark: Diamond No. 9, Centennial Park, Sherwood Park
Home Opener: 7:05 p.m., Friday, May 31st vs. Sylvan Lake Gulls (at Gulls Field) … Centennial Park home opener takes place 7:05 p.m., Thursday, June 6th vs. Regina Red Sox
2023 Results: Did not play
Mascot: Homer
View Edmonton Prospects 2024 Roster
