Six Storylines to Watch in 2026

As we went through the 2025 baseball season, we didn’t really realize just how many stories we were writing.

Entering 2026, we realize we’ll definitely be busier with a laundry list of major events and personal performances that will likely dominate the headlines.

McFarland Recognized by Baseball Canada

This one certainly came out of left field.

Baseball Canada has named our Joe McFarland as the winner of the annual Bob Elliott Media Recognition Award.

Morneau’s Cup Runneth Over

He’s a Canadian baseball legend and a former National League batting champ, but Justin Morneau did a double take when he was asked to be the face of an exciting new national championship tournament.

Greg Hamilton – Baseball Canada’s Director of National Teams and Head Coach of the Junior National Team – approached the two-time Silver Slugger Award winner to see if he would lend his name to the top prize being handed out at The Road to Okotoks event.

“My first thought is, did Larry Walker turn it down?” said Morneau …

Celebrating Baseball Alberta’s Best of 2025

It was a record-setting year for Baseball Alberta and the organization is expecting even bigger things in 2025.

That was one of the many storylines coming out of Baseball Alberta’s Annual General Meeting and Awards in Edmonton.

From Bat Boy to Hall of Famer

It could have been quite easy for Orv Franchuk to dislike or even hate baseball right from the very start.

The Wandering River, Alberta product instead turned around and made it a passion, earning him numerous accolades including being named to the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame.

OPINION: 10 Familiar Faces for Canada

The youth movement has arrived for Canada and it looks like it will be on full display at the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

With the World Series now complete, many baseball insiders have now turned their attention to the next installment of what turned out to be a major coup for the sport in 2023.

We take a look at 10 players from Alberta and Saskatchewan who could hear their names get called ahead of the tournament.

1 Thru 9: Calum Andersen

It didn’t take long for Calum Andersen to etch his name into Vauxhall Academy lore.

As a 15-year-old in April 2024, the right-hander twirled the program’s second five-inning perfect game, striking out 10 in an 11-0 win over AHP Academy Black.

After an eventful 18 months, he’s now getting ready to join the Baseball Canada Junior National Team.

A Barry Good Call

The smile on her face and tears in her eyes were more than enough to tell what was going through Sydney Barry’s mind.

The Fort McMurray native also couldn’t help but laugh in retelling the story of how she found out she was on the Women’s Pro Baseball League (WPBL) draft-eligible list.

OPINION: The Road to Okotoks

The road to Canadian baseball academy supremacy will go through Okotoks.

The idea of an academy national championship has been tossed around for years as programs want to show how they stack up against each from coast to coast to coast.

Joe McFarland takes a look at what has him excited for a national showcase in our own backyard.

Dawgs Hosting Canadian Academy Championship

The road to Canadian baseball academy supremacy will run through Okotoks.

Baseball Canada and Dawgs Academy have announced the launch of “The Road to Okotoks” national championship, which will see 16 elite academy teams compete for the Morneau Cup.