Ayden Makarus thought he was done with baseball.
More than two years after quitting the game to get on with his post-baseball life, the Dawgs Academy alum has returned with a vengeance at Bellevue University.
He was named the North Star Athletic Association Player of the Week on April 14, where he hit .429 with four home runs, 10 runs batted in and eight runs scored in four games.
The utilityman did it again two weeks later, posting a line of .375 with four more roundtrippers while driving in seven and scoring seven en route to also being named the Canadian Baseball Network’s College Player of the Week.
Sporting a .322 batting average on the season, Makarus has 15 home runs, 35 RBI and 37 runs scored in 37games.
As it turns out, baseball wasn’t done with him.
“I’m on cloud nine,” Makarus told Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast. “I’m doing something that I thought was a closed chapter in my books – I’m better than ever.”
Happy and healthy after what can only be described as a rollercoaster few years, the junior utilityman is excited about what lies ahead, grateful for the opportunity to get a fresh start.
And it’s thanks in large part to an emotional conversation with a loved one.
THAT WILL DO
Makarus first burst on the baseball scene in 2019 as one of two Dawgs, along with Cesar Valero, to be named to Baseball Canada’s Junior National Team Spring Training roster.
Heralded for his catching abilities, the Edmonton-born prospect had a long family lineage in the game, including his great-grandfather, who almost played for the Brooklyn Dodgers before being told by his family that he wasn’t allowed.
Makarus graduated from high school with a commitment to Louisiana State University-Eunice, a National Junior College Athletic Association Division II school.
He was hitting .439 with three home runs and 17 RBI in 14 games before the world came to a stop with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The following season, the backstop was a key piece to the Bengals claiming a national championship, as he supplied a .284 batting average with 12 roundtrippers and 44 RBI.
While everything was coming up roses on the field, Makarus had his challenges away from the diamond.
His then-girlfriend had twins who passed away shortly after birth, which led him away from his schooling, and he lost his scholarship because of his falling grades.
After taking some time away, Makarus returned to the field with Bossier Parish Community College in 2022, hitting .258 with six dingers and 32 RBI in 45 games for the Cavaliers.
Content with what he accomplished, the Okotoks native says he decided “that was good enough” and wanted to focus on his career.
LIFE AFTER BASEBALL
Looking to make some money and get his post-baseball journey underway, Makarus moved to Edmonton and started working in the energy industry.
He says the money didn’t actually come, he wasn’t loving the job, and he started gaining weight – his 6-foot-2, 215-pound frame had ballooned to nearly 270 pounds.
Makarus went back to the gym, cut the weight, and decided try firefighting in January 2024.
He enrolled in a four-month program, but soon learned the group he was getting his certificates with was filing for bankruptcy.
“Five months in, thousands of dollars basically down the drain and coming away with no certificates,” Makarus said.
“That was kind of eye-opening about how that’s not what I’m supposed to be doing.”
He then moved back to Okotoks to work with his dad, then changed things up again as he decided to become a personal trainer, and joined GoodLife Fitness as a front office worker, simply hoping to get his foot in the door.
Yet another roadblock was waiting for him shortly after, as he was rushed into an emergency room for gall bladder surgery.
‘PICK UP THE DAMN PHONE’
Recovering from surgery and yet another setback, Makarus says it became clear that “something was missing.”
He says he wasn’t motivated by his job and felt there was something more waiting for him.
That’s when a conversation with his girlfriend, Morgan, changed his outlook on life and on the game he once loved.
He says he was always inspired by the reigning Miss Queen Alberta and Miss Western Canada, who had also started “Persistence Haven – Invisible Disabilities” to open up the conversation about mental health through equine therapy.
Sitting in his house in Okotoks, Makarus remembers how she was doing her makeup while he was toying with the idea of playing recreational slo-pitch or volleyball to pass the time.
“She slams her makeup brush down on the counter and goes, ‘For God’s sake, Ayden, you need to go back to baseball,’” he recalled.
“I was like, ‘I don’t know how to make that happen – I don’t know know what route to go,’ and she just said, ‘Just pick up the damn phone and call somebody.’”
GOING ALL IN
That phone call turned out to be the Okotoks Dawgs, who welcomed Makarus in with open arms to start 2025.
The slugger says he received a hearty “MAKARUS!” from general manager Tyler Hollick and felt right at home as he listened to the usual sounds of the Duvernay Fieldhouse.
The 24-year-old says the conversation with Morgan opened his eyes and stepping foot into the Dawgs’ facilities verified what he probably knew all along.
“Honestly, it opened my eyes – I was healed, I was good and I was where I needed to be,” Makarus said. “That (baseball) was a part of my identity for a long time and just knowing that it was an option that I never really thought about until she pushed me to that point where I was like, “No, I can do this, let’s do this.’”
He proceeded to hit about 200 baseballs on the first day, and despite a little soreness from maybe overdoing it, he pushed for more as he’s a big believer in going all in.
Meantime, Dawgs coach Lou Pote put in a few phone calls to see who might be looking to fill out a roster and received a call back from another familiar face: Bellevue University assistant coach and WCBL Dawgs coach Mitch “Big Bear” Schmidt.
Makarus recalls Pote coming out during one of his batting practices with a phone in hand, saying Schmidt wanted to talk.
They went over the need for transcripts and to make sure everything checked out.
Just a few days later, Makarus was on his way to Bellevue.
A NEW ENERGY
Despite nearly three years passing by, Makarus feels like he’s right back to where he should have left off at Bossier Parish.
In a good place mentally and physically, he is looking to play summer baseball back home and head back to Bellevue in the fall as a senior.
The Sports Management major’s journey has taught him not to get too far ahead of himself, but he’s happy to keep chasing his baseball aspirations as far as they will take him.
“Hopefully a pro contract comes out of that, whether it’s independent ball or overseas or even potentially the draft,” Makarus said.
“I know age is a thing now, so it’s kind of crunch time for myself in that way. But that’s what I’m working towards right now is trying to get something at the next level.”
He’s also hoping that his story can serve as inspiration for anyone going through the trials and tribulations he has endured over the last few years.
Makarus says it’s okay to take a step back and evaluate what you want, even if you have an emotional tie to whatever it is you’re chasing, adding his family and support system have been vital to making his baseball dreams re-appear.
“It’s been emotional for everyone – I’ve heard them say countless times that I’m different, that the energy radiating is different now,” he said.
“It’s a true sense of fulfillment now that I’m back to where I’m supposed to be.”
Makarus and the Bruins will begin their quest for a national championship when the North Star Athletic Association tournament begins May 1 at Dickinson, North Dakota.
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