If the University of Calgary Dinos want to get back to the Canadian College Baseball Conference’s promised land, they will need to depend on some of their up-and-coming talent like Nathan Varjassy.
A freshman during the Dinos’ CCBC championship-winning season in 2023, the Moose Jaw native is now entering his third season with the Dinos.
The 5-foot-10 Faculty of Arts student hit .318 with four runs batted in, seven walks and two stolen bases in 15 games in 2024 and is hoping to be a bigger piece of the puzzle this spring.
Varjassy is well on his way to besting those numbers, putting together a line of .355 with three RBI, five walks and two stolen bases in just eight games so far.
The Moose Jaw 18U Triple-A Canucks alum also spent part of the 2022 as an affiliated player with the hometown Miller Express of the Western Canadian Baseball League.
Now an infielder, he was a utilityman with the club, pitching in seven regular season games and one in the playoffs, striking out nine batters in 10+ innings and picking up a pair of at-bats in three games.
Varjassy took some time after the Dinos’ home-and-home series with the Edmonton Collegiate Hawks to answer a few questions via Instagram for the latest installment of 7th Inning Stretch.
1. How excited were you to get the new CCBC season going?
It’s really exciting to get the season going, especially after being stuck inside all winter. It’s super-nice to get back playing outside.
2. Do you have any goals or expectations of yourself heading into the spring?
I just want to be able to contribute as much as I can to winning games this year. I want to be able to look back at the season and say I gave it everything I had.
3. As a third-year guy, how much are you trying to insert yourself as a leader and what are you telling some of those younger guys just starting out about a typical CCBC season?
We have lots of fourth- and fifth-year guys that are great vocal leaders, so I’m just trying to piggyback a bit off those guys.
4. What are you seeing out of the team this year that makes you believe you’ll be back as champions?
I think we’re a solid team all around. We have some big arms and a solid offence.
5. You’re the product of Moose Jaw. How did you get into the game in the first place?
I think I was like four when my parents signed me up for tee-ball and I loved it. Little League in Moose Jaw is also really solid, so I would say that’s when I really got into it.
6. Any favourite memories or moments on the field over the course of your whole career?
There have been lots of cool moments and memories on the field that stick out to me.
One that really sticks out to me is when I was playing Little League and we got the opportunity to go to Nationals. It was awesome. It was super-cool to be 12 years old and meet kids from all over Canada with the same interests and passions.
Another baseball memory that sticks out to me was, during COVID, we couldn’t really practice or do anything team-related, but me and my brother would sometimes go out to a diamond and do live ABs against each other.
7. If you had a piece of advice for someone back home in MJ on how to get to where you’re at now or to dream even bigger, what would you want to say to them?
I would say to just have fun and enjoy it. At the end of the day, it’s just a game and having fun with it makes it enjoyable. I also think it’s important to play other sports as well. I played volleyball and basketball, and some of my favourite memories in those years were with those teams.
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