We have come to the fork in The Road to Okotoks and the Morneau Cup.
After three Regional Qualifers were held in May, 16 teams have made the trek to Alberta for the start of the inaugural 19U national championship.
Over the next few days, they will go toe-to-toe in four pools:
Pool A will be made up of the host Okotoks Dawgs Black as well as Atlantic Frontier, Sylvan Lake Gulls Prep and Terriers Baseball
Pool B consists of the Abbotsford Cardinals, Mississauga Tigers HPP, Team Saskatchewan and UBC Thunder.
Pool C features DT Select, Ontario Blue Jays, Vauxhall Academy and Victoria Eagles.
And Pool D is home to the AHP Renegades, Etobicoke Rangers, Langley Blaze and Ontario Kobras.
Just like we did with the Prairie Qualifiers, we asked each of the teams to provide a little more information about the squads they are bringing to Okotoks as we look to get you all set up for the action.
Okotoks Dawgs 18U Black
Coaches: Bretton Gouthro, Jeff Duda
Three Players to Watch: Kadyn Armitage, Taye Thierman, AJ Rogers
What They’re Saying: “Our team has more depth than ever before in all facets of the game. Our pitching depth is unmatched across the country. Offensively, we have a healthy blend of speed, contact and power from top to bottom while maintaining balance between right-handed hitters and left-handed hitters that will make it difficult for teams to match up against.”
Read more: The Dawgs’ Road to Home
Atlantic Frontier
Head coach: Ryan Sweeney
Assistant coaches: Cory Boutilier, Todd Price, Mike Konigshofer
Players to Watch: Jack McCarthy, Jake Trask, Evan Mabey
What They’re Saying: “We are equal parts talent, grit and pride. For far too long, Atlantic Canada’s best players have strengthened programs across this country. Starting now, they will compete together under a single Atlantic Canadian banner, and will regularly challenge the nation’s best while proudly representing home.”
Sylvan Lake Gulls Prep
Head coach: Josh Zanolli
Assistant coaches: Riley Barrett, Tyler McWillie
Three Players to Watch: Daril Rodriguez, Dayne Liske, Braxton Bussing
What They’re Saying: “Our message to the team heading into Okotoks has been fairly simple. Compete as hard as we can until they tell us we’re done. Support each other and lastly enjoy the experience. We’ve earned the right to be part of the biggest tournament in the country. Compete and try to win as many games as we can and see where it takes us.”
Read more: Gulls Prep’s Road to Okotoks
Terriers Baseball
Head Coach: Ryan Pollard
Assistant Coaches: Chris Boatto, Chris Black, Kevin Hussey
Players to Watch: Jack Perry, Noah Currah, Elias Ruio-Reyes
What They’re Saying: “We’re bringing a battle-tested team that combines talent, toughness and chemistry. Our players trust each other, they embrace competition and they play with passion. They’ve earned this opportunity through their dedication and character and we’re looking forward to the challenge against the top teams in Canada.”
Abbotsford Cardinals
Head coach: Kevin Nicholson
Assistant coaches: Josh Berenbaum, Corey Eckstein, Max Ishikawa, David Nash
Players to Watch: Dylan De Meyer, Landon Nash, Jake Carriere
What They’re Saying: “The Cardinals are excited to represent BC and compete with the best in Canada. Our team is a tight knit, home grown group that is hungry to showcase their talents on the national stage. Our program takes pride in our culture, which focuses on team first, sacrifice, and the relentless pursuit of excellence. We believe we are an overlooked program on the national landscape and look to make some noise at Okotoks.”
Mississauga Tigers HPP
Head coach: Greg Byron
Assistant coaches: Kyle Thomas, Nick Skillens, Dave Chung
Players to Watch: Max Nantais-Vlahovich, Damarcus Rideout-Carter, Ramsey Chung
What They’re Saying: “We are an extremely close-knit, resilient, blue-collar kind of team who loves to play and compete.”
Team Sask
Head coach: Greg Brons
Assistant coach: Todd Plaxton
Three Players to Watch: Aiden Kilshaw, Mitchell Rauckman, Trentin Kooy
What They’re Saying: “We are a true high school aged team with no gap-year players. The players have a lot of pride wearing our uniform and representing Saskatchewan. I’m betting other provinces don’t have the same pride. We have no problems getting the best players to come out and compete for us. You never have Sidney Crosby turning down the opportunity to represent his country and it’s the same with our players and this province – we love being from Saskatchewan and competing with the Sask uniform on.”
Read more: Baseball Saskatchewan’s Road to Okotoks
UBC Thunder
Head coach: Connor Hillman
Assistant coaches: Christian Raytek, Duncan Robertson, Eric Hegadoren, Logan Wedgwood, Mitch Hodge (GM)
Players to Watch: Nico Siegenthaler, Quinn Jackson, Colin Hill
What They’re Saying: “We know we have the talent and we’re grateful for the chance to compete in the Morneau Cup against some of the best players in the country. Our season in the BCPBL has had its fair share of ups and downs, and that’s made our guys more resilient. We might not be the ones getting the headlines, but we believe we have the pieces. Now it’s about our guys believing the moment is right in front of them and is theirs for the taking.
We’re embracing the underdog fight and welcoming the challenge. In a tournament-style event, anything can happen, and we know we can hang with the best when it counts. What we expect from ourselves is siple: when we’re at our best, we play free and loose, a brand of baseball where every player is confident to take the ball and wants the opportunity. We didn’t come just to participate, we cam to show the nation what we’re made of. Why not us?”
DT Selects (QC)
Head coach: Benoit Blais
Assistant coaches: Roch Seguin, Ian Jordan
Players to Watch: Giuliano Marcangione, Jordan Marer, Zachary Langley
What They’re Saying: “DT Selects is a scrappy team that plays seven innings. We execute and put a lot of emphasis on the little things. We are a talented group that plays the game the right way with a team first mentality.”
Ontario Blue Jays
Head Coach: Conner Morro
Assistant Coaches: Darren Shred, Jared Kennedy, Brandon Dhue
Players to Watch: Julian Sabourin, Logan Cummins, Jalen Jacob
What They’re Saying: “We are energized and excited to be able to compete against some of the best players, coaches and programs across Canada. We will be looking to do damage when we arrive and step on the field at the Morneau Cup!”
Vauxhall Academy
Head coach: Les McTavish
Assistant coaches: Jim Kotkas, Joel Blake
Three Players to Watch: Easton Kitura, Rogan Rivard, Calum Andersen
What They’re Saying: “We have a well-rounded group with some pitching depth, defense and some offensive production. Long tournaments like this, it is important to get off on the right foot with game one. Our primary focus is to make sure we are healthy and in the right mindset out of the gate. Our guys will be excited to see each other after going home for the summer and hopefully that adds to our passion and desire to compete.”
Read more: Vauxhall’s Road to Okotoks
Victoria Eagles
Head coach: Frank Kaluzniak
Assistant coaches: Scott Smith, Jason Gibson, Thomas Plant, Jeremy Campbell
Players to Watch: Austin Blair, Will Henzi, Spencer Gordon
What They’re Saying: “Our team has consistently risen to every challenge placed before it, and we believe this season will be no different. As we compete against the best teams in Canada, we’re confident our players will represent our organization with pride, determination, and the competitive spirit that defines who we are.”
AHP Renegades
Co-Head coaches: Connor Burns, Ethan Elias
Three Players to Watch: Jax Mitzel, Jayden Kane, Cale Harsch
What They’re Saying: “Our group is really resilient and learned how to play for each other at the Prairie Qualifiers. They have done an awesome job of buying into the offensive approach and executing at a high level. This group’s ability to win in different ways, execute the little things, and our depth will be our biggest assets. Our main message going to Okotoks is that we didn’t come this far to come this far.”
Read more: AHP Renegades’ Road to Okotoks
Etobicoke Rangers
Head coach: Geoff McCallum
Assistant coaches: Cameron Dyck, Marcus Biassatti, Evan Howard, Dennis Westfall
Three Players to Watch: Gavin Friederichsen, Dante Chiavatti, Lucas Cordeiro
Langley Blaze
Head coach: Jamie Bodaly
Assistant coaches: Zach Mihic, Kayden Beauregard
Players to Watch: Luke Laird, Carter Bestebroer, Will Dolphin
What They’re Saying: “We’ll show up and be in every game. We have great hitting and defense, and we’re hoping our pitching takes us to the next level in Okotoks.”
Ontario Kobras
Head coach: JJ Rutherford
Assistant coach: Tiago Cavallo
Three Players to Watch: Alessio Cassanta, Daniel Tchernavski, Zack Hobson
What They’re Saying: “We are incredibly proud to have qualified for this event. As a new program in our very first year, reaching this stage is a tremendous achievement. We have a talented young roster ready to compete, and this is only the beginning. Our journey is just getting started as we pursue our goal of becoming the premier program in Canada.”
You can get your tickets to The Road to Okotoks here or watch all games online here.
