By IAN WILSON

The Okotoks Dawgs are perennial championship contenders.

The eight-time Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) champs and three-peat winners from 2022 and 2024 were finally handed a playoff loss last August.

But the Dawgs are always hungry.

And they’re a lock to win at least 40 of their 56 games each season.

(They haven’t recorded less than 40 victories since 2018 when they played just 47 games).

So they should have all the ingredients to contend for the Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy yet again.

And no matter how the WCBL campaign goes, there will be loads for baseball fans to be excited about in Okotoks in 2026.

Seating at Seaman Stadium has expanded with the construction of Section 112 along the third-base line, a move that adds 160 more grandstand seats to the ballpark. A new field-level suite by the visitor dugout also gives fans the opportunity to get in the action with large group or corporate bookings.

The Duvernay Fieldhouse has also undergone a major expansion that was done in two phases. The first phase, completed last summer, expanded the facility’s strength and conditioning centre. That move tripled the size of the previous weight room and ushered in brand new equipment and the implementation of state-of-the-art technology.

The second phase adds 6,500 square feet to the fieldhouse. The Rose Hitting & Pitching Lab will serve as the pitching hub for the Dawgs, while doubling as a centre for hitters to use six more professional batting cages. This recently completed expansion gives players access to cutting-edge technologies such as Trackman, Blast Motion, PULSE sensors and other dynamic vision and mental performance training amenities.

Meanwhile, the Dawgs will play host to The Road to Okotoks from July 14-19. The inaugural Baseball Canada national championship will see 16 high school academy teams from across the country compete for the chance to raise the Morneau Cup as the nation’s top U19 amateur squad. The event will allow potential future WCBL players to get an up close look at Canada’s premier summer collegiate league during the tournament.

“It’s important to note that this is Canada’s largest and best amateur baseball tournament, essentially the Memorial Cup of baseball,” said Tyler Hollick, the president of baseball operations with the Okotoks Dawgs.

“The Dawgs 18U Black team, widely considered the number one team in the country every year, was most recently ranked number two in North America by Perfect Game and has already received a bid in the 16-team tournament, with the Dawgs 18U Red and White teams attending one of the three national qualifiers at the end of May to secure their spot in the country’s most prestigious event.”

Between the WCBL Dawgs and Dawgs Academy, Seaman Stadium will be a busy destination this summer.

“The Dawgs are loaded for bear this year and excited to showcase it all to Dawgs nation this season,” said Hollick.

Here’s a closer look at the roster for the senior Dawgs squad heading into this WCBL season.

BATTING

In the outfield, Ayden Crouse joins the Dawgs out of Indiana University, where he is hitting .320 with 30 runs, 15 RBI and five homers through 36 games. Crouse leads the Hoosiers in stolen bases, with 14. The Arizona product was a 2025 All-Region and All-Conference selection with Chandler-Gilbert Community College. Crouse batted .400 with three stolen bases in five early-season WCBL games with Okotoks last summer.

Fellow Hoosier Cal Gates also brings plenty of speed to the base paths and the outfield for Okotoks. Gates has played 20 games for Indiana University as a freshman this year.

Aidan Dougherty is another speedster added to the roster out of the University of Washington. He has seven steals with the Huskies in 24 games this year, after batting .361 with eight swipes and 29 RBI with the University of Connecticut in 37 games in 2025. After playing with two different versions of the Huskies, Dougherty should fit right in as a Dawg.

Ontario’s Matthew Evans is another newcomer from Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi, an NCAA Division 1 program, and Dante Turgeon, a 6-foot-3 outfielder with Western Illinois University has also signed on with the team.

Landon Kauffman, a Dawgs Academy alum, will look to take a step forward with the summer collegiate squad in 2026. The outfielder picked up four runs, three RBI and four hits through nine WCBL games last summer.

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The infield will also have some fresh troops.

Owen Lee is a Tennessee Tech University shortstop who has 34 runs, 31 RBI, nine long balls, seven stolen bases and a .304 batting average in 39 games during his second season with the Golden Eagles.

Infielder Ashton Martin is one of four Wright State University players the Dawgs have signed for this summer in the WCBL.

Some familiar faces will be back handling ground balls, as well.

Corner infielder Connor Crowson, the 2024 WCBL Playoff MVP, has played 223 regular season and postseason games for the Dawgs over the last five years. In that time, the hometown hero has a .360 batting average, 18 home runs, 177 RBI, 193 runs and 24 stolen bases. After batting .401 for Okotoks last season, the Tennessee Tech University student was named the league’s Most Outstanding Canadian award winner.

Ricardo Sanchez has been a part of four WCBL championship teams in Okotoks. Since 2019, the Mexican middle infielder has suited up in 208 contests for the Dawgs. He has 226 hits, 128 RBI, 178 runs, 43 stolen bases and 144 walks over 755 at bats. Sanchez, who is now a star player at Gonzaga University, was the 2022 WCBL MVP. With the Bulldogs this season, the gritty shortstop is hitting .350 with 26 runs, 27 RBI and four long balls in 36 games. He has been named to the shortlist for the Brooks Wallace Award, which recognizes the nation’s top shortstop.

The power stroke of Leo Cote will be on display at Seaman Stadium yet again this summer. The Quebec infielder joined the Dawgs in late June of 2025 and registered five homers, 21 RBI, 14 runs and a .325 batting average in 21 games, including four postseason matchups. A lefty batter, Cote is a redshirt freshman at the University of Portland.

The all-time home run leader for the Dawgs is also back for another summer. Nova Scotian Nash Crowell has knocked out 29 long balls in 113 games, while adding 113 RBI, 85 runs, 20 doubles and a .305 batting average since 2023. The first baseman and designated hitter is a teammate of Crowson’s at Tennessee Tech University.

Gearing up behind the dish is Jacob Wrubleski, a local talent who has appeared in 29 games with the Dawgs over the last two summers. The right-handed batter has a .286 batting average, five round trippers, 27 runs, 21 RBI, and five stolen bases in 105 WCBL at bats. Wrubleski plays alongside Sanchez at Gonzaga University.

Jayden Lusk, a hard-hitting catcher from Vernon College, has a .380 batting average and a .500 on-base percentage in his 47 games with the Chaps. The Californian also has 41 runs, 36 RBI, 10 doubles and seven homers.

Rounding out the stable of backstops is Lachlan Maude, a 6-foot-4 Toronto, Ontario product who is a student at the University of New Mexico.

PITCHING

Logan Rumberg will return to the Dawgs out of George Mason University, a Division 1 NCAA program. In 59 innings and 11 starts this year, the righthander is 4-2 with 64 Ks and a 3.97 ERA. Rumberg appeared in eight games for Okotoks in 2023 and made five starts for the Dawgs that season. In 24.1 innings that summer, he went 2-1 with a 4.07 ERA and 38 strikeouts.

Newcomer Adrian Quintana will look to make an impression on the Seaman Stadium faithful and the pitching staff. An ace at Ottawa University in Kansas, the 5-foot-8 moundsman is 7-2 with 57 Ks and a 2.18 ERA over 62 innings. The Texan has appeared in 13 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) games and made 10 starts. He has five complete games, four shutouts and a save for the Braves.

Dawgs Academy graduate Preston Tocheniuk, who made three relief appearances for Okotoks in 2024, got into three games again in 2025 and two of them were starts. The righthander looked solid in his 15 innings on the bump, posting a 2-0 record, 10 strikeouts and a 1.80 ERA. The local pitcher could chew through more innings this summer.

Also looking for more WCBL action are fellow Dawgs Academy grads and University of Portland teammates Will Labonte and Austin Collins.

Labonte made one relief appearance for Okotoks in 2024 and one start in 2025. He is making waves as an ace with the University of Portland. The Montrealer has appeared in 11 games for the Pilots with 10 starts, throwing a team-high 57.2 innings while recording a 2.50 ERA and 50 strikeouts. The righthander has been named a semifinalist for the College Baseball Hall of Fame 2026 National Pitcher of the Year award.

A pair of southpaws who are new to the team could see time in the starting rotation.

Christopher Wrench is a left-handed pitcher who is putting up video game numbers at the College of Southern Nevada. The towering 6-foot-5 hill topper from Bozeman, Montana has impressed with the Coyotes. In 19 innings and four starts, Wrench has a 3-0 record, 0.95 ERA and 30 strikeouts.

Lefty Ty Manuel has made 12 starts this year at Odessa College, where he is 5-2 with 58 Ks and a 3.63 ERA in 57 innings.

Blake Smith brings plenty of NCAA Division 1 experience to the pitching staff out of Seattle University, where he has logged 232 innings since 2022. The righty is 13-14 with three saves in 66 games, 34 of which were starts. Now primarily a reliever, Smith has 177 strikeouts with the Redhawks.

Gabe Brabec is new to the Dawgs from Gonzaga University, where the righty starter is 4-4 with 41 strikeouts in 51-plus innings with the Bulldogs over the last two seasons. Brabec was outstanding at Linn-Benton Community College in 2023-24, where he went 9-1 with 99 strikeouts and a 1.11 ERA in 72-plus frames.

Emmett Stacher, another new righthander, currently plays at Linn-Benton Community College, under head coach Andy Peterson, a long-time member of the Dawgs coaching staff.

High-octane reliever Ashton Luera – an absolute force for the Dawgs in helping lock down a 2024 WCBL championship before being limited by injury last year – is seeking a return to form. The righthander from Oklahoma Wesleyan University has made 34 appearances for Okotoks, including seven in the postseason. Over 37.1 innings, the Albuquerque, New Mexico native has nine saves, a 1.93 ERA and an absurd 69 strikeouts.

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Luera’s teammate at Oklahoma Wesleyan University, Alex Garcia, will venture north to Alberta this summer, as well. Originally from Miami, Florida, the righthander has appeared in 14 games for the Eagles and made seven starts. Garcia is 4-1 with a save and a complete game. Through 68.1 innings, he has a 3.03 ERA and 62 strikeouts.

Korey Alston of Odessa College will bring a fastball that reaches the mid-90s. The righty reliever with the Wranglers has five saves in 16 appearances, a 3.75 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 24 innings.

Reid Madariaga is back for another bullpen assignment after serving as a reliever in five regular season games and two playoff contests for Okotoks in 2025. In his 6.1 innings, the righty from Oahu, Hawaii only allowed one hit, while giving up zero earned runs and striking out seven opponents.

Another familiar face is that of Nolan Jackson, a reliever from Hamilton, Ontario, who made two appearances with the Dawgs last year and gave up no hits or runs in 2.1 innings. The righty is a McCook Community College moundsman.

Other new right-handed pitchers with the Dawgs include Mason Petridis (Wright State University); Brody Burnette (Bellevue University) and Joe McBride (Campbellsville University).

The most dependable starting pitcher with the Dawgs last summer was Portland, Oregon’s Brady Baltus, who went 4-1 with 23 strikeouts and a 3.72 earned run average (ERA) over eight WCBL starts and 38-plus regular season innings. The Bellevue University went 1-1 for Okotoks in the postseason.

Veteran righthander Brody Forno has seen it all with the Dawgs. The Okotoks native has pitched in 80 regular season and playoff games for his hometown ball club since 2021 and struck out 138 batters in 150-plus WCBL innings. Forno has worked as both a starting pitcher and a reliever and is 11-2 with a 3.76 career ERA. He was also a key member of three WCBL championship teams.

The Dawgs have inked a pair of southpaws from Wright State University. Jordan Kievman is a two-way player who handles outfield duties when he’s not on the mound, while Brody Papay is a 6-foot-4 lefty from Avon, Ohio.

Max McCraray (University of Houston) is another lefty option for the Dawgs.

COACHING

The Dawgs have kept their highly successful coaching staff intact.

Lou Pote is back as the head coach this summer.

Pote pushed Okotoks to the top of the West Division standings, with a 40-16 record in 2025. The Dawgs led the division in runs scored, hits, homers, RBI and total bases while posting the best fielding percentage in the WCBL last summer.

He brings major league experience and a World Series ring to the home dugout at Seaman Stadium. The 54-year-old Chicago product pitched in the majors for the Anaheim Angels and professionally for the Edmonton Trappers, Cracker-Cats and Capitals.

Joining Pote once again is Mitch “Big Bear” Schmidt, who will serve as bench coach for the Dawgs.

David Robb – also known as “DR” – will serve as the hitting coach. Robb is a member of the Okotoks Dawgs Hall of Fame, whose time coaching with the team extends back to when they first joined the league as a Calgary franchise.

Returning as well is pitching coach Joe Sergent, who was a draft pick of the Florida Marlins in 1999. The lefty moundsman took the bump for the indy league Calgary Vipers for three seasons and won a Golden League championship with them in 2009.

Rounding out the staff are infield coach Andy Peterson – an Oregon State University alum who was drafted in the 27th round of the 2014 MLB Draft by the Seattle Mariners – and athletic therapist Savannah Blakley, who has been with the team since 2012.

Home Ballpark: Seaman Stadium

Home Opener: 7:05 p.m., Friday, May 29th vs. Sylvan Lake Gulls

2025 Regular Season Results: 1st place in West Division with 40 wins & 16 losses

2025 Playoff Results: Lost in West Division final to Sylvan Lake Gulls; 2-2 postseason record

View 2026 Okotoks Dawgs Roster

WCBL Championships: 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024