Rural Roots Baseball Classic Photo Gallery

Oh yeah, Oyen!

That was quite a show at the Rural Roots Baseball Classic over the weekend.

The Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) event – a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Oyen Pronghorns championship season – culminated with a neutral site game between the Lethbridge Bulls and the Sylvan Lake Gulls at Doug Lehman Field on Sunday, June 8th.

Here are some of the sights from the Rural Roots Baseball Classic …

2025 WCBL Season Preview

Baseball heroics are on deck.

The last time we saw the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) in action, Connor Crowson was stumbling around the bases of Seaman Stadium and arriving at home plate to a championship celebration in front of 6,341 screaming fans.

It was Crowson’s solo home run in the bottom of the ninth that served as a walk-off tiebreaker against the Moose Jaw Miller Express and delivered a three-peat title to the Okotoks Dawgs. The hometown hero made the final play of the WCBL postseason a decisive and memorable one in the 6-5 triumph.

Who will play the role of hero in 2025?

Cole’s Notes

After a solid freshman season at Indian Hills Community College, Cole Huebner decided to up his game.

The Edmonton native and AHP Academy alum has been named the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference Co-Pitcher of the Year.

Sylvan Lake Gulls 2025 Preview

No team was hotter than the Sylvan Lake Gulls heading into the postseason.

The Lake Boys rattled off 10 straight wins and finished the 2024 regular season with a Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) record 44 victories as they entered the playoffs.

Then the Dawgs took over. What can the Gulls do to get past their biggest rivals?

Five Storylines We’re Watching in 2025

What will Erik Sabrowski do for an encore? Can Michael Soroka find his way as a starter in Washington? And can the Okotoks Dawgs repeat the four-peat?

We look ahead to what promises to be another fantastic year of baseball coverage from an Alberta perspective.

2024 Dugout Stories All-WCBL Team

What if the Western Canadian Baseball League had a team of all-stars that took part in the Major League Baseball Playoffs?

What started as a one-off idea in 2023 is now becoming a yearly tradition as we highlight the best-of-the-best from the WCBL.

WCBL Well Represented on All-Canadian College Teams

The Canadian Baseball Network’s All-Canadian College Teams have been announced and Western Canadian Baseball League players figure prominently among the selections.

The annual release of Canada’s top college baseball players by the national network has been taking place for a quarter century and CBN founder Bob Elliott unveiled the final picks for 2024 recently.

OPINION: WCBL Returns to its Rural Roots

The Western Canadian Baseball League has introduced its first-ever Rural Roots Game in 2025.

To be held on June 8, the Sylvan Lake Gulls will face the Lethbridge Bulls in Oyen, Alberta.

Our Joe McFarland talks about the history and the potential for the new initiative.

2025 WCBL Schedule Released

By IAN WILSON Start saving dates on your calendar. The 2025 Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) regular-season schedule is here. Opening Day takes place on Wednesday, May 28th at 7:05 p.m. at Athletic Park when the Medicine Hat Mavericks play host to the defending champion Okotoks Dawgs. The game is a rematch of the 2023 […]

WCBL Attendance Continues to Climb

Attendance figures in the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) are up significantly this year, according to recently released rankings from Ballpark Digest.

The Okotoks Dawgs led the charge with 133,664 fans coming through the turnstiles in 2024.