By IAN WILSON
The World Baseball Classic is getting an injection of Western Canadian Baseball League talent this year.
The 20-team international event – which runs from March 5th through March 17th with games in Miami, Houston, San Juan and Tokyo – includes some players who are familiar to WCBL fans.
Matt “Tugboat” Wilkinson is the youngest person on the Canadian roster. The 23-year-old had an impressive national team debut during a March 4th exhibition game that saw Canada defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3 at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Florida. Wilkinson struck out five Phillies over two innings to pick up the save. The Okotoks Dawgs product allowed just one hit in the outing and 22 of his 31 pitches were thrown for strikes.
“I’m just looking forward to representing my country with Canada across my chest,” Wilkinson told Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast after he was named to the national team.
“Honestly, it’s one of the highlights of my baseball career so far.”
Wilkinson was just 12 years old when he delivered one of the most dominant pitching performances in the Little League World Series.
Playing for White Rock in 2015, the young southpaw struck out 16 in five scoreless innings in a 1-0 extra innings loss to Mexico.
Since then, he’s wanted to get back on the world’s biggest baseball stage but couldn’t grab the attention of Baseball Canada for the Junior National Team.
As the years went on and his standout play continued, Wilkinson’s dream didn’t go away, and was even strengthened when he was at Central Arizona.
“I went to the WBC in ’23 and remember being there thinking, ‘I’m going to be pitching for Canada in the next one,’” said the 6-foot-1, 250-pound hurler.
A few months later, the Guardians made him their 10th round selection in the Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft, setting in motion the opportunity to make that a reality.
Greg Hamilton, Canada’s bench coach, said Wilkinson has the composure to compete at the WBC.
“We like the pedigree, we like the compete level, we like the fact that he throws a lot of strikes and we like the fact that he doesn’t shy away from competition,” said the team architect.
“It’s our job to put him in the right spots and, if we can do that, we think he will embrace it and that compete level will come out.”
Another former member of the Okotoks Dawgs, Jordan Procyshen, will serve as a bullpen catcher for Team Canada at the WBC. Procyshen is now the bench coach for the Triple-A Reno Aces, an affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
CZECH IT OUT
Canada isn’t the only team at the World Baseball Classic that will benefit from players who suited up in the WCBL.
On the Czechia roster is two-way player Ryan Johnson, who was a long-time star with the Weyburn Beavers.
The 6-foot-5 lefty from Winnipeg was a starting pitcher for the Beavers from 2013 to 2018. In his 41 starts and 239-plus innings in what was then called the Western Major Baseball League (WMBL), Johnson had 23 wins, 253 strikeouts and a 3.64 ERA.
He has been a pitcher and a hitter for the Trebic Nuclears in Czechia since 2021.
“Hit, pitch, relief, start … whatever the boys need from me,” said the 33-year-old in an MLB.com video.
“COVID hit, and I came straight over to Europe at that point. I wanted to play some ball.”
After playing in Germany, Johnson made his way to Czechia, where he helped the national team qualify for the WBC.
“Feels pretty amazing that I can help my team on both sides of the ball. That’s all I really try and do, is just do my job,” he said in a 2021 interview with DiscoverWeyburn.com.
“This was probably the best option for me, as far as just going and playing competitive ball.”
Added Johnson: “It’s a lot of fun, and it’s also a great experience … I’m not trying to win every single thing I can and be the best player of all time. I’m trying to leave an impression on and off the field.”
CATCHING ON
The team from Great Britain is also getting a helping hand from Matt Ward, who is serving as the squad’s bullpen catcher.
The 24-year-old from Mississauga, who played for Niagara University, was a member of the Swift Current 57’s in 2022. That summer he had a .303 batting average, 25 runs, 34 RBI, 13 doubles and six homers in 44 WCBL regular season games.
Ward has British citizenship through his father, Peter, and he represented that country at the U23 World Cup and in the European championship.
The relationships he built during those tournaments helped Ward land a spot on the 2026 WBC roster.
“To be surrounded by the best players in the world, you get a front row seat,” Ward said in a Canadian Baseball Network (CBN) article by Matt Betts.
“I’m just going to try and pick everyone’s brain as much as I can and enjoy the moment. Learn as much as I can. I’m going to be the happiest person there and I don’t even know if I’m going to play. It’s going to be amazing.”
The British are in a pool with Italy, Brazil, Mexico and the powerhouse United States team.
“It’s going to be beyond words,” he said.
“For someone who’s unlikely to make it to the big leagues, to share the field with them is going to be quite the moment I’m going to remember for the rest of my life.”
Tales of Baseball 