By JOE McFARLAND

Pardon the pun, but Alberta once again hit it out of the park in the college baseball ranks this year.

From the record-setting performances of pitchers to conference-leading hitting feats, this year’s roster for the Alberta Dugout Stories All-College Team most definitely made this province proud.

The 2023 edition boasts a few returning veterans, but it also has a few new faces with players like Gavin Logan, Matt Coutney and Ty Penner having moved onto professional baseball.

READ MORE: Take a look back at the 2020, 2021 & 2022 ADS All-College Teams

Interestingly, the best might still be to come as many of the players on this year’s list were junior college sophomores and have already made their way to top NCAA and NAIA schools, so we suspect they may be back for another term in a year’s time.

As always, we had a preference for those born or who spent the majority of their childhoods in our province. We did, however, note several players who spent a couple of high school years here to take advantage of the coaching and facilities to take their game to the next level. And while they didn’t make our team, they were certainly worth mentioning.

Matt Wilkinson was an absolute beast on the bump for Central Arizona College before the Dawgs Academy product was drafted by the Cleveland Guardians in the 2023 MLB Draft. Similarly, Tyler Boudreau was the ace at Midland College, but the Vauxhall Academy grad is actually from Nova Scotia. The same story holds true for others like Micah McDowell, Martin Vincelli-Simard and Kaiden Cardoso. All of these names would have created a strong backbone for a team of their own.

After scouring box scores and stats reports from across the United States to find the best performances, and here are our picks for the 2023 ADS All-College Team.

Catcher – Zach Stark – Medicine Hat

When you win a Gold Glove award as a catcher, people are going to notice. And that’s exactly what happened with Medicine Hat’s Zach Stark, who became a key piece of the Williston State Titons roster in 2023. Offensively, the freshman hit .327 with four home runs and 32 runs batted in while suiting up in 50 games. Defensively, the Medicine Hat Mavericks backstop starred with a .995 fielding percentage, committing just two errors while throwing out more than 35% of would-be base stealers on his way to being named All-Region XIII as well as the Rawlings Gold Glove.

First Base – Dryden Howse – Okotoks

Ever since he was named the Baseball Alberta 15U ‘AAA’ Player of the Year in 2017, expectations were high for Dryden Howse. After a successful high school career with Dawgs Academy, he moved onto Barton Community College in 2021-2022 and put up solid numbers. He upped the ante in 2022-2023 by hitting .349 with eight home runs and 57 RBI in 55 games. For his efforts, Howse was named to the Region VI/Plains District All-Tournament Team and earned an Honourable Mention as an All-KJCCC West First Baseman. In June, he announced he was taking his talents to Utah Tech University.

Second Base – Ricky Sanchez – Okotoks

A teammate of Howse’s at Barton, Ricky Sanchez once again made life difficult for opposing pitchers. While he didn’t hit .442 as he did in 2021-2022, Sanchez still put up a great line of a .323 batting average with seven home runs and 71 RBI while stealing 22 bases. The 5-foot-8, 170-pound Dawgs Academy grad and Okotoks Dawgs fan favourite was rewarded as well by being named to the First Team All-KJCC West as well as the Second Team All-Region VI at second base. Sanchez also earned an opportunity to keep his college career going by committing to Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas.

Third Base – Connor Crowson – Okotoks

Yet another Dawgs Academy product in the infield, Connor Crowson had himself another star season with Bossier Parish Community College. As a sophomore in 2022-2023, he hit .360 with four home runs, 49 RBI and 10 stolen bases. He was named an All-Conference third baseman. Crowson is also taking his baseball journey to the next level as he heads to the University of Montevallo in Alabama.

Shortstop – Cleary Simpson – Elnora

A utilityman who spent time in both the infield and outfield at Northern Kentucky University, Simpson started the season slowly before really turning it around at the end of April and into May. The 5-foot-10, 180-pound St. Joseph Academy product finished the year hitting .324 with 25 RBI and 15 stolen bases. He was also a force for the hometown-area Sylvan Lake Gulls in the summer before heading back for his senior year with the Norse, where he figures to play an even bigger role in 2024.

Outfield – Clayton Loranger – Sherwood Park

Finishing up his third and final year with Stephen F. Austin University in 2023, Clayton Loranger wanted to become a bigger force for the Lumberjacks and he delivered. The 2022 West Coast League All-Star with the Edmonton Riverhawks had his best college season by hitting .343 with three home runs, 31 RBI and seven stolen bases in 48 games. During the summer, it was announced he was joining AHP Academy as the head coach of their Rustlers program.

Outfield – Cesar Valero – Calgary

One of the things Cesar Valero wanted to do in 2023 was stay healthy for the entire season. Coming off a great 2022 shortened by injury, the Dawgs Academy grad appeared in 54 of 59 games for Sacramento State University. He finished the year with a .281 batting average to go along with 10 home runs and 49 runs batted in. While his power numbers were down, Valero’s approach appeared more well-rounded, nearly doubling his walk totals and striking out only five more times despite playing 15 more games.

Outfield – Tucker Zdunich – High River

While he wasn’t able to replicate the massive success he had in his first season with Reinhardt University, Tucker Zdunich didn’t disappoint in his sophomore campaign. The 5-foot-10, 190-pound Dawgs product put up a great .347 batting average with 13 home runs, 49 RBI and 13 stolen bases in 47 games. He was named to the AAC All-Conference First Team as well as the ACC All-Academic Team before spending the summer with the Northwoods League’s Kenosha Kingfish.

Utility – Logan Grant – Chestermere

Making the jump from community college to NAIA or NCAA can be a challenging one, but not for Logan Grant. The Dawgs Academy grad seemed to make the transition with ease, hitting .367 with 11 home runs and 69 RBI in 58 games for Bellevue University. Grant was named the NSAA Newcomer of the Year as well as an All-NSAA First Team selection, before helping guide the Okotoks Dawgs to their second-straight WCBL championship. He was also named to the Canadian Baseball Network All-College Second Team.

Pitcher – Cohen Achen – Calgary

Many eyes were on Cohen Achen as he entered his junior year with Lindsey Wilson College. He started his first year with the Blue Raiders in the bullpen, but became their ace by year’s end and continued that into 2023. Achen went 6-4 with a 3.16 earned run average in 12 starts this spring, throwing four complete games. Most notably, he struck out 110 batters in just 74 innings of work, the fourth-most strikeouts in school history. Achen once again added to his trophy case as well by being named to the Mid-South All-Conference First Team for a second-straight season.

Pitcher – Brody Forno – Okotoks

In his second season with Williston State, Brody Forno made a huge jump in his role on the Tetons’ staff. The hard-throwing right-hander went from long reliever to starter and made the adjustment with ease, going 7-3 with a 2.34 ERA in 12 appearances, including 10 starts. The Dawgs Academy product also struck out 72 batters in over 61 innings, earning a Region XIII All-Region selection and, like Achen, was named to the CBN All-Canadian College Third Team. Forno is continuing his post-secondary baseball career at Oklahoma Wesleyan University.

Pitcher – Kyle Bloor – Lethbridge

When the Tennessee Wesleyan University Bulldogs needed to shut a game down, Kyle Bloor was getting the call from the bullpen. Among the national leaders in saves with seven, the 6-foot-1, 185-pound right-hander went 3-0 with a 5.04 ERA in 21 appearances in 2023, striking out 40 batters in 30 innings of work. He was also named to the All-AAC First Team, earning a contract with the Sioux City Explorers in November.

Taxi Squad

For the first time, we thought we would add an additional three players to our list. Call them “honourable mentions” or members of our “taxi squad,” but we felt their performances deserved some recognition. Edmonton’s Tyler Herron was fantastic for Parkland College, hitting .265 with seven home runs and 23 RBI in his second season with the Cobras. Spruce Grove’s Jason Serafinchon had an underrated season by hitting .329 with seven homers and 44 RBI with McCook Community College. And finally, Coaldale’s Seth Gurr was also an All-Conference performer on the hill for Bossier Parish Community College, going 6-0 with a 5.53 ERA in 14 games, striking out 51 batters in 57 innings of work.

As mentioned, many of these athletes were singled out by the Canadian Baseball Network. If you haven’t already, check out their yearly recognitions here:

READ MORE: CBN All-Canadian First Team
READ MORE: CBN All-Canadian Second Team
READ MORE: CBN All-Canadian Third Team

As always, we love hearing from you. Any of these performances stand out as the best to you? Any that we might have missed? Let us know in the comments below or on our social media channels.