Representing his home province will never get old for Kingston Besuijen.
While the Okotoks native has done it before, the Dawgs Academy product says it went to another level when he did it on home turf with Baseball Alberta at the 2024 Canada Cup in Fort McMurray.
The two-way player thrived in his lone appearance on the hill, allowing no runs or hits while striking out three in two-plus innings of work in an 8-2 win over Newfoundland and Labrador.
Alberta finished 3-3 at the tournament, while Besuijen went back home to fine-tune his game.
With an arsenal of a fastball, slider and changeup, he has wanted to gain “absolute control” of his pitches, leaning on former Dawgs like Matt Wilkinson and Graham Brunner to show him the way during the offseason.
The work paid off as Besuijen announced in December that he had committed to the College of San Mateo in California.
The 6-foot-2, 203-pound right-hander plans to focus on pitching, as well as kinesiology and business in the classroom, when he joins the Bulldogs in the fall.
We discussed that and his baseball journey for the latest installment of 1 Thru 9.
1. What was it about the College of San Mateo that made you believe it would be a good fit?
The coach that I talked to, Coach Williams, one of the best guys I’ve ever talked to. He has super-high aspirations. He told me how he’d reach my goals and everything. The campus is one of the best I’ve ever seen.
2. What do think about joining a school that has a long history of winning conference championships (14 between 1995 and 2019)?
I’m super-excited to have a school where they obviously love winning. And if I can go in there and get another state conference win, that’s super-exciting.
3. Shifting gears: what was it like representing Alberta at the Baseball Canada Cup on home turf last summer?
That was a super-cool experience. I’ve played for other Team Alberta teams at nationals, but that was definitely a special one. That was a great group of guys and just a lot of fun.
4. We’ve talked to some of the other guys on the team who said it was something else getting to play under the lights with a big home crowd in Fort Mac. What was it like from your perspective?
It was crazy. That was probably one of the most hyped up and fun I’ve ever had pitching.
5. What does it mean to you to represent Alberta on the national stage?
I love it. I like to show what our province has to offer and just to play with the best in our province.
6. Any favourite moments or highlights of your young career to this point?
It was my first year going to a national tournament. It was my bantam second year and we were playing Manitoba and I was the last batter of the game. I walked off the game with a line drive to left field. That was the coolest moment ever.
7. What has the Dawgs Academy program meant to you, not just as a ballplayer but a human being as well?
It’s big. We don’t just focus on baseball, but we also grow as young men and they set us up for our future. Not just for baseball but outside of it as well.
8. If you had any advice for young kids just starting out on their baseball journeys, hoping to get to where you’re at now, what would you say to them?
You just have to stick to it and stay with the grind. Whatever works for you … do that. Don’t change it just because somebody else is doing something different.
9. What does the game of baseball mean to you?
It’s massive. It’s more than a sport, it’s kind of like a lifestyle. I wake up, go to it, go to school, after school I’m back at baseball. I just love it.
