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The Dawgs Academy is pleased to announce that RHP|OF Brandon LeBlanc has committed to Chandler-Gilbert Community College in Chandler, Arizona.

LeBlanc joins a long list of Dawgs that have attended Chandler-Gilbert including Dawgs General Manager & Chandler-Gilbert Hall of Fame member, Tyler Hollick.

LeBlanc was one of the aces on a deep pitching staff for the 18U Black team in 2022. In 14 appearances including 8 starts, LeBlanc pitched 50 innings while surrendering only 28 hits with a 0.98 ERA. Offensively, LeBlanc hit .327 in 52 AB’s while driving in 14 runs on the year.

Congratulations, Brandon!

The Okotoks Dawgs will be hosting their annual Holiday Hoopla on Saturday, December 10th from 9am to 1pm at the Duvernay Fieldhouse.

Admission is free of charge but we will be accepting donations for the Okotoks Food Bank. This is a great opportunity for the Dawgs, our fans, and the community of Okotoks to help those in need! There will be plenty of fun and activities including inflatables, pictures with Santa, arts & crafts, face painting and more for people of all ages to enjoy!

This is one of our favourite events of the year and we look forward to celebrating the holiday season with our fans and the community of Okotoks!

The Dawgs Academy would like to congratulate Dawgs Academy RHP Jet Uszacki, on his commitment to Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon.

Uszacki was a shutdown arm for the Dawgs 18U Red during the 2022 spring & summer, primarily coming out the bullpen appearing in 16 games, 27.2 IP, 34 K’s, 4 saves & a 3.74 era.

Jet will be joining Dawgs teammate, LHP Nate Charlton, in Gresham starting in the Fall of 2023.

The Dawgs Academy is pleased to announce another new addition to our coaching staff, Dawgs alumni and recent University of Louisiana-Monroe Graduate Assistant, Ryan Humeniuk.

Ryan Humeniuk graduated from the Dawgs Academy in 2016, earning a scholarship to Indian Hills Community College in Centerville, Iowa. During his sophomore year at Indian Hills, Humeniuk played in 58 games hitting .348 with 70 hits, 12 home runs, 69 RBIs, 62 runs scored and 10 steals earning him a scholarship to NCAA Division I, University of Louisiana-Monroe. During his three seasons at ULM, Humeniuk hit .290 with 142 hits, 23 doubles, 5 triples, 14 home runs, 75 RBI, 108 runs scored and 35 stolen bases. 

After finishing his senior year in the Spring of 2021, Humeniuk accepted the Graduate Assistant Coach position at the University of Louisiana-Monroe for the 2021-22 season, and earned his degree in Finance, capping off an impressive college career on and off the field.

Ryan will be a tremendous asset to the Dawgs organization and our athletes, and we are very pleased to have him joining our staff moving forward as hitting & outfield coach.

The Dawgs Academy is excited to announce the tournament schedule for all age groups in the academy for the 2022 Spring & Summer season!

The tournament schedule features multiple high profile tournaments including the Best of the West Premier Showcase (18U Black & 15U Black), Langley Blaze Invitational (18U Black & Red), Perfect Game 18U BCS National Championship (18U Black & Red), Perfect Game 18U World Series (18U Black), Palouse Summer Series at Washington State University (18U Black & Red), Pastime 15U National Championships at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee (15U Black & Red) and Triple Crown Spring Championships (13U).

Other tournaments include the Langley Blaze Spring Tournament (18U Black & Red), Best of the West Classic (18U Red, 16U, 15U Black & Red, 13U), Kalispell Lakers Canadian Days Classic (18U Red & 16U), Father’s Day Classic (13U), Canada Day Classic (15U Black & Red) and the Baseball Alberta Provincials (16U, 15U, 13U).

The Dawgs always strive to provide our athletes with opportunities to succeed while seeking out events that will help provide exposure to better competition, and potentially, college recruiting opportunities.

2022 is shaping up to be an outstanding year!

The Dawgs Academy is pleased to announce the following players who have been selected to the 18U Program for the 2022 season.

Congratulations to the following players on being selected:

Story by Tyler Milton

This past weekend saw teams from across the prairies travel to Okotoks for the 13U Okotoks Dawgs Invitational. Eight teams rounded up the tournament, with many of Alberta’s top teams from the 13U circuit participating in the tournament. Teams in attendance this year included the Calgary Cardinals, Calgary Bucks, Cochrane Crush, Going Yard Goats (Saskatoon), Parkland Twins, Red Deer Braves, Sherwood Park A’s and the host Okotoks Dawgs. 

The Dawgs got off to a hot start on Friday morning, seeing the Calgary Cardinals in their first game of pool play. Alex Machej took to the mound to get the Dawgs rolling. Machej threw three innings, striking out four, while allowing one run on one hit. Mason Fenton continued the strong effort on the mound throwing two innings, punching out two hitters while not allowing a hit. Offensively, the Dawgs were hot, Taye Thierman started the game with a bang with a homerun to right field in the first inning. Both Ray Han and Cody Schuck would join the fireworks by hitting home runs of their own in the third inning. Han would tally seven RBIs in the game with a three-hit effort. The offensive barrage led to a 20-1 final score for the Dawgs. 

Next up was the Red Deer Braves. The Braves came into the tournament as one of the top teams in the North Division in Baseball Alberta. As the visitor, the Dawgs got off to a hot start plating 15 runs in the first two innings. Machej led the offense, driving in six runs in his three at bats, including a triple. Taye Thierman and Giacobbe De Castro also tallied extra base hits in the 15-hit effort by the Dawgs offence. Ray Han and Colton Ullyett-French combined to throw a no-hitter on the mound. The duo punched out nine braves on route to a 18-1 victory over the Braves. 

Saturday morning saw two 2-0 teams face off from Pool A, as the Dawgs took on the Sherwood Park A’s. The winner of this game received home field advantage for the semi-final game the following day. Evan Matthews got the ball for the Dawgs and was masterful over his three innings of work, allowing one run on three hits while punching out three A’s hitters. Giacobbe De Castro came on in relief and continued to fill up the zone against the A’s offense. Ray Han, Taye Thierman and Avery Johnson led the offense, all collecting multiple hits in the 16-6 victory over the A’s. 

Saturday night allowed for all of the teams in the tournament to take in the WCBL game at Seaman Stadium. All of the players enjoyed their evening at the game, as for some, this was their first WCBL experience. 

“Having the summer collegiate league in town certainly allows for a unique experience to our tournament that leaves players with lasting memories of their time playing in Okotoks. Wherever they are from, it’s always special watching a WCBL game here at Seaman Stadium.” 13U Head Coach Tyler Milton said. 

After Saturday four teams remained; Going Yard Baseball, Parkland Twins, Sherwood Park A’s and the host Okotoks Dawgs. Going Yard and the Parkland Twins squared off, seeing the Goats from Saskatoon no-hit the Twins, winning 10-0. In the other semi-final, a rematch of Saturday mornings affair between Sherwood Park and Okotoks. 

Avery Johnson would get the ball for the Dawgs. Johnson would set the tone for the Dawgs punching out six over his 3.1 innings of work. Will Lapohn would come on in relief to get the Dawgs out of a jam in the fourth inning. Lapohn threw 1.2 allowing two hits but also sending two A’s back to the dugout with K’s next to their name. Ultimately Lapohn would bridge the gap until Taye Theirman came in for the top of the 6^th inning. Theirman was electric, striking out six A’s hitters to secure the win for the Dawgs. Offensively Grady Suba, Cody Schuck, Alex Machej and Ray Han would each collect two hits, with Machej and Han also collecting hits of the extra base variety. Dawgs would win this one 7-4, leading to a showdown of undefeated teams for the final. 

Heading into the final, the Going Yard Goats offence had put up 78 runs in their four games. To counter the Goats strong offence, the Dawgs countered with their ace, Grady Suba. Suba did what every ace is expected to do, be dominant and that he was. Over his five innings of work, Suba would punch out seven, while only allowing two runs to score (one earned) as he left in line for the win after a strong outing. Ray Han would come in to shut the door for the Dawgs. Han punched out three over his two innings. Tyson Dyck, Taye Thierman and Ray Han all collected extra base hits in the game. Giacobbe De Castro would pick up multiple hits in the game as well. Will Lapohn provided insurance in the seventh inning, driving in Han to give the Dawgs a three-run lead heading into the bottom of the seventh. The Dawgs would end up victorious and capture the 13U Okotoks Dawgs Invitational championship with a 5-2 victory.

Exciting Times to be a Dawg Press Release

The last month has been very exciting for the Okotoks Dawgs! The province of Alberta has managed to curb COVID-19 and fully reopen with little-to-no restrictions, the WCBL season is well underway featuring two Dawgs teams, Okotoks Dawgs Black and Okotoks Dawgs Red and the cherry on top of it all… the Dawgs have current academy athletes and alumni making waves in the amateur and professional baseball ranks.

Former standout Dawgs pitcher, Andrew Kittredge, was named to the 2021 American League All-star game roster. Alejo Lopez, former Dawgs Academy and WCBL standout middle infielder, made his Major League Baseball debut with the Cincinnati Reds. Tristan Peters, a Dawgs Academy product, 2019 WCBL Rookie of the Year and 2019 WCBL Playoff MVP, was selected 207th overall in the 7th round of the 2021 MLB Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers.

Andrew Kittredge, a WCBL All-star and now MLB All-star, has been lights out for the Tampa Bay Rays. In 32 games pitched including 4 starts, Kitt is now 6-1 on the year with 1.47 ERA; accumulating 43 innings pitched, 43 strikeouts and a miniscule 0.86 WHIP.

Alejo Lopez, former standout Dawgs Academy and WCBL middle infielder, was called up to the Cincinnati Reds on June 28th, 2021. Since being called up to the show, Lopez is batting .313 in 16 AB’s while scoring 3 runs with the Reds.

Tristan Peters, Dawgs Academy graduate, WCBL Rookie of the Year and WCBL Playoff MVP, was selected in the 7th round of the 2021 MLB Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers after an outstanding year with the Southern Illinois University Salukis. Peters swung the bat well for the Salukis all season slashing .355/.548/1.011 while collecting 77 hits- 20 doubles, 2 triples, 6 home runs and 55 RBI’s.

Furthermore, the Okotoks Dawgs Academy has managed to place 20 different athletes since the Fall of 2020 for an opportunity to play college baseball, including 13 different athletes at the NCAA Division 1 level. Amongst the 20 different athletes placed at colleges across North America, players have netted over $1.8 million in athletic scholarships. Simply unprecedented. Schools that Dawgs have committed to include but are not limited to- University of Tennessee, University of Oregon, Oregon State University, University of Washington, Washington State University, Stetson University, and Cal State University Bakersfield.

Dawgs athletes, both past and present, having success at the next level is something everyone in the Dawgs organization, our fans and our community takes pride in!

Go Dawgs! Go Okotoks!