Stealing the Show

You would be hard-pressed to find a more memorable opening weekend of professional baseball than the one Eric Hartman had.

The St. Albert native and Dawgs Academy grad may have come back to Earth later in 2025, but he learned plenty of lessons in his first pro season.

Hart of a Champion

As Eric Hartman roams centre field at the Rogers Centre this week at the Canadian Futures Showcase, he’s continuing a family legacy started four years ago by his older brother Max.

The St. Albert Minor Baseball Association and Dawgs Academy product is coming off helping the Okotoks Dawgs win their seventh WCBL championship, and is looking forward to joining his sibling at Washington State University in 2024.

Dedicated

It is unbelievably hard to keep secrets from people so deeply entrenched in their communities.

So organizers in St. Albert and Calgary had their hands full in putting together surprise celebrations for two staples in their respective baseball communities.

And even a couple months later, both Kurtus Millar and Glen Hansen have a hard time finding the words to describe having facilities named in their honour.

Blue Jays Academy Gallery

A thrill of a lifetime for many aspiring baseball players in our province with the annual Blue Jays Academy Super Camp powered by Honda.

George Bell, J.P. Arencibia, Homer Bush and Ricky Romero showed players in St. Albert and Okotoks a few tricks of the trade over the last four days.

We were invited onto the field to snap a few photos of the festivities.

7th Inning Stretch: Taran Oulton

No matter where he pitches – or how he’s throwing – you can always count on Taran Oulton to log a lot of innings.

The Calgary-born lefty, who trained at Prospects Academy in St. Albert, recently wrapped up his senior year at William Woods University (WWU), where he set a new school record for complete games in a season.

Since returning to the Edmonton Prospects of the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) for yet another summer season, Oulton has remained busy.

Flame Thrower

No one can ever accuse Jarome Iginla of choosing the wrong sport.

As a two-time Olympic gold medalist and a player who amassed 625 goals and 1,300 points over his National Hockey League (NHL) career, the former Art Ross Trophy winner can sleep soundly knowing that the work boots that fit him best had steel blades on the soles.

But that’s not to say that “Iggy” – as he became known to hockey fans – didn’t have options when it came to his athletic pursuits. The product of St. Albert was just as comfortable in baseball cleats as he was in skates when he was growing up, and those who witnessed what he was capable of on the diamond say he could have had a future in baseball if he chose that route.

Going To Wark

St. Albert’s Jackson Wark has always dreamed about playing college baseball.

And while he may be one of the top-ranked draft-eligible players from Canada, right now he’s focused on bringing success to his Saint Louis University Billikens.

We chatted with him for a recent episode of Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast and here’s that exchange.

1 Thru 9: Prospects Baseball Academy

After a decade of operation, Prospects Baseball Academy in St. Albert has cultivated some incredible talent.

Those who have attended the academy include Major League Baseball (MLB) draft picks – like Toronto Blue Jays pitching prospect Andrew Case and Erik Sabrowski, a 2018 selection of the San Diego Padres – while others have represented the Prospects in Edmonton as members of the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) team.

Other students – such as Jackson Wark, Kobe Hyland and Taran Oulton – have gone on to play high-end college baseball in the United States and across Canada.

Jordan Blundell, meanwhile, has become the face for the Prospects in both St. Albert and Edmonton. In St. Albert, Blundell works as a hitting instructor and recruiting coordinator at Prospects Baseball Academy, while in Edmonton he was recently named head coach and director of baseball operations by the Prospects.

We caught up with Blundell recently to learn more about the academy.

1 Thru 9: Mat Brisson

The rivalry between the Edmonton Prospects and Okotoks Dawgs once again hit a fever pitch in the playoffs.

The Prospects have taken full advantage of the “underdog” tag and one player happy to indulge on social media was Mat Brisson.

The right-hander sat down earlier this season to dish on everything for “1 Thru 9.”

Oulton Hears a Hoo

Alberta baseball fans may recognize left-handed pitcher Taran Oulton from his work on the mound for the Edmonton Prospects of the Western Major Baseball League (WMBL), but the 21-year-old has been a stabilizing force for the William Woods University (WWU) Owls this season.

The Owls – who play out of Fulton, Missouri in the American Midwest Conference – have an overall record of 21-11 on the year, including a 10-3 showing in the conference, good for second place.

For his part, Oulton has collected five wins over eight starts. The 6-foot tall junior has not pitched less than six innings during any one outing, and he has yet to yield more than two earned runs on game days. Over 55 innings, Oulton has struck out 50 batters while walking 15 hitters. He has also surrendered 56 hits, but just one of them for a home run