Hudson’s Day

It’s been just over a year since Hudson Nikkel moved to Vauxhall to chase his baseball dreams.

With a goal of refining his game and getting a college scholarship, even he might not have believed all he would accomplish in 12 months.

The Morden, Manitoba native made his mark everywhere he went, including several tournaments with the Jets, including The Road to Okotoks and then with Team New Blue to capture the Blue Jays Academy Canadian Futures Showcase championship in Vancouver.

His continued strong performances prompted a call from Tyler Oakes at North Dakota State University to make Nikkel’s collegiate dream come to life.

Located just 3.5 hours from his hometown, the left-hitting slugger couldn’t be happier to see all of his hard work pay off.

“What excites me the most about NDSU is the opportunity to compete at a very high level and represent my home province,” Nikkel said.

“Being able to do that at a program so close to home makes the opportunity even more special.”

He also heads to a program that is flush with Canadian content this spring – including fellow Vauxhall product Sheamus Ryan, as well as Okotoks alum Adam Beamin and Saskatchewan’s Mitchell Rauckman – as he gets ready for high school graduation.

View this post on Instagram

MANITOBA PROUD

Nikkel’s love of baseball started with watching his dad play softball around Manitoba.

After forays into other sports like hockey, volleyball and track didn’t work out, the young athlete decided to stick with the game he felt he was best at.

“I really had to take a step back and realize which sport I really liked the most,” Nikkel recalled.

“It came down to this one. It’s always been the one I loved the most and I just really wanted to work hard at it from there on out.”

He made some headway in the game when he started representing Baseball Manitoba at national tournaments, eventually catching the eye of Les McTavish at Vauxhall.

Before heading west, Nikkel put up an impressive .333 batting average with five singles, two doubles, three runs batted in and five runs scored for his home province at the 2025 Canada Summer Games in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.

ARRIVING IN ALBERTA

The 6-foot-4, 202-pound product remembers his first day in Vauxhall vividly.

In fact, it’s still one of his favourite baseball memories.

“It was a great, beautiful, sunny day out,” Nikkel said. “After all the tours and we got settled in, right there in my backyard is a baseball stadium.”

He says the Jets went out for batting practice almost immediately and all the jitters about moving a couple of provinces away came to a halt.

Nikkel credits the team’s coaching staff and his teammates for making the transition that much easier as the focus was really on developing as a ball player and as a human being.

“I think living on your own really makes you realize who you are as a person outside of baseball,” he said. “I also think being around all these guys – some of them are role models for me – they really do shape you as a person.”

The 18-year-old proceeded to be a powerhouse for Vauxhall, including hitting a combined .414 with two doubles, four roundtrippers, 10 RBI and a 1.397 OPS during The Road to Okotoks Prairie Qualifiers and the Morneau Cup.

ROOM TO GROW

The ball kept jumping off Nikkel’s bat as he headed to Vancouver for the Canadian Futures Showcase.

He went 5-for-9 with four RBI and a stolen base and also hit the tournament’s first home run in a 3-1 win over Team Grey.

“It feels great,” Nikkel said post-game. “I was just trying to get my first hit, put a good barrel on the ball, and I just got lucky there, I guess, and I’m grateful for that.”

Nikkel also made his presence felt in the championship, driving a two-run single into right field in the third inning of Team New Blue’s 6-1 triumph over Team Royal.

It was the perfect way to cap off an unforgettable year, which he still has to pinch himself about as it wasn’t that long ago he had made college baseball his only goal.

And now with his commitment, the outfielder plans to take full advantage of the opportunity by working even harder heading into his freshman season in a few months.

“Just getting stronger, maybe getting heavier, working out in the gym a lot,” Nikkel said of his offseason goals. “I think a lot of stuff will just come naturally with those things and eating right. I plan on coming back stronger in the spring.”

Just in time to put an exclamation mark on his short but storied time in Alberta.

Main photo credit: Mark Zhuang (BCIT)