By IAN WILSON
The best and brightest in the Western Canadian Baseball League are gearing up for a full weekend of fun in Saskatoon.
The WCBL has announced its player selections for the East Division and West Division rosters that will take the field at the 2026 All-Star Weekend at NexGen Patch at Cairns Field on Saturday, July 18th and Sunday, July 19th.
Here is a closer look at the players who have been chosen to represent their teams.
EAST DIVISION
There are six WCBL clubs in the East Division, including five from Saskatchewan and one based in Alberta. They include the Moose Jaw Miller Express, Regina Red Sox, Swift Current 57’s, Weyburn Beavers, Saskatoon Berries and Medicine Hat Mavericks. The Regina Red Sox are the defending WCBL champions.
Saskatoon Berries
The hometown crowd will have a pair of pitchers and and a trio of batters to cheer on.
Michael Sall sits among the league leaders in earned run average (2.45 ERA) and innings pitched (33). The 6-foot-2 starting pitcher from Omaha, Nebraska is 5-0 with 27 strikeouts and he has only allowed 11 walks.
Fellow righthander Tanner Hosick has been fantastic out of the bullpen. The University of Nebraska Omaha student is 5-2 with two saves, and 27 Ks in 16-plus innings pitched. He has registered a 1.10 ERA thus far this season.
Outfielder Ethan Murdoch returns to the WCBL All-Star Game after an excellent first half of the campaign. The 6-foot-5 slugger from Swift Current is on the leaderboards in batting average (.405), on-base percentage (.487), OPS (1.169), hits (51), doubles (11), runs batted in (36) and home runs (8) through his first 30 games played.
Second baseman Gael Salinas is also a top hitter in the league. The Guanajuato, Mexico native is batting .387 with a .493 on-base percentage, 11 doubles, 34 runs and 27 RBI in 30 games.
Look behind the plate for Southeastern Louisiana University student Gavin Panks to work with East Division All-Star pitchers. The backstop is batting .394 with a .520 on-base percentage, 24 runs, 27 RBI, 37 hits and 22 walks in 27 WCBL contests.
Moose Jaw Miller Express
A pair of strikeout artists will rep the yellow-and-black.
Veteran workhorse Westin Walls leads the league in strikeouts (59) and innings (53.2) midway through the season. The towering Texan is 3-1 with a 3.52 ERA for the Millers this year.
Southpaw Jacob Glazener is pushing Walls for the most strikeouts in the WCBL. The 6-foot-2 St. Edward’s University student is 6-2 with 51 Ks in 41.2 innings.
The top base stealer on the circuit will also represent Moose Jaw. Shortstop Thomas Soto – from Round Rock, Texas – has 30 stolen bases this season on 35 attempts. The switch hitter is also batting .325 with a .444 on-base percentage, 40 runs, 21 RBI and 20 walks in 32 games.
Outfielder Chris Franks, a lefty hitter from Ashland University, has recorded 31 RBI, 22 runs, 34 hits, 10 stolen bases and eight doubles through 31 games with the Miller Express.
Australian outfielder and designated hitter William Edwards – who set a single-season WCBL record for RBI in 2025 – will join his Moose Jaw mates in Saskatoon. In 32 games this year, Edwards is batting .336 with 28 runs, 27 RBI, 39 hits and 19 bases on balls.
Medicine Hat Mavericks
Catcher Nate King has been recognized for his work behind the dish and with the bat. The 20-year-old Ontario product sports a .329 batting average and has 14 runs and 10 RBI in 22 games.
He’ll be joined on the East Division roster by third baseman Carter Roth, who also hails from Ontario. The Doane University pupil, who is in his second season with the Mavs, has produced a .426 on-base percentage, .364 batting average, 28 runs, 27 RBI, 15 doubles and 51 hits in 33 contests.
Outfielder Blake Dale has been among the league leaders in hits (41), doubles (16), home runs (6) and RBI (35). Dale is in his third season with the Mavericks after playing at Kansas Wesleyan University.
Righty pitcher Derek Archer is having a phenomenal campaign on the bump. The senior from Westminster College is among the top of the WCBL pitching leaders in strikeouts (42), ERA (3.44) and innings pitched (36.2). The righthander has a 2-2 record and has allowed 14 walks.
Reliever Tanner Hail is also getting an All-Star nod. In 16-plus innings, Hail is 2-1 with two saves, 14 Ks and a 4.96 ERA. The Feather River College student stands 6-foot-4 inches tall.
Weyburn Beavers
A pair of Logans are representing Weyburn this year.
Logan Lynch is one of the WCBL leaders in innings (38.1), ERA (3.29) and strikeouts (27). The right-handed starter is 4-2 and has issued just 13 bases on balls. Lynch is a Cartersville, Georgia product who played for the Reinhardt University Eagles.
In 22.2 innings, Logan Kinter has picked up a pair of saves while registering 24 strikeouts for the Beavers. The Eastern New Mexico University student is in his second season with Weyburn.
Brayden Mayencourt is a five-year veteran with the Beavers. The first baseman, a lefty batter from Surrey, British Columbia, has a .280 batting average, 23 runs, 18 RBI, 18 walks and three long balls in 28 games this year.
Outfielder Joe Madill, a Cochise College student, has produced 26 hits, 23 runs, 15 RBI, four round trippers, five stolen bases and 20 walks in 30 games with the Beavers.
Veteran catcher Robert Gurney is expected to mask up for the East Division, as well. The fourth-year Beaver from Campbell River, British Columbia is batting .275 with a .396 on-base percentage, 17 runs, 16 RBI, nine doubles and three homers in 29 games.
Regina Red Sox
Baseball-bashing Brady Bye will represent the Red Sox during All-Star festivities. The Regina native has consistently ranked among the WCBL’s top batters in hits (40), homers (9) and RBI (40). Through 31 games, the third baseman has a .333 batting average, 26 runs and eight stolen bases.
Bye will have some familiar faces in the infield.
First baseman Will Togher has a .310 batting average, 24 runs, 22 RBI, three bombs and four steals in his first 30 games of the 2026 WCBL season. The Fort Collins, Colorado product studies at Garden City Community College in Kansas.
Long-time Red Sox infielder Justin Simard has provided steady offence to the Regina lineup. In 29 games, the Californian has a .405 on-base percentage, .339 batting average, 37 hits, 16 runs, 15 RBI, 10 walks and four stolen bases.
Starting pitcher Kaegan Baker has been a K machine in the Queen City. Through his first 31-plus innings, the 21-year-old righty is 3-2 with 45 strikeouts and just 12 walks allowed. Baker hails from Harrah, Oklahoma and pitches collegiately for Southwestern Oklahoma State University.
David Gordon has been solid out of the bullpen for the Red Sox. He’s 1-1 with two saves, 26 strikeouts and a 3.60 ERA in 20 innings. The righthander from California studies at Arizona Christian University.
Swift Current 57’s
Swift Current’s version of the bash brothers will be front and centre at NexGen Patch at Cairns Field.
Jake Hiromoto and Keagan Knowler have been homer happy all season. They both have 11 long balls so far this summer.
Hiromoto is batting .378 with a 1.189 OPS, 39 RBI, 31 runs, 42 hits and two steals in 29 contests. The University of San Francisco freshman grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Knowler has a .417 on-base percentage, 29 RBI, 24 runs, 30 hits, eight doubles and 15 walks in 27 WCBL games. The 6-foot-3 first baseman from Tecumseh, Ontario has committed to play for Roane State Community College.
Outfielder Lucas Geisler, the pride of Balcarres, Saskatchewan, is an on-base machine who has managed to get aboard at a .456 clip through 25 matchups. The speedster also has nine stolen bases, 21 runs, 21 hits and 13 RBI.
Workhorse Zach Desylva will also represent the green-and-orange. The righty is 3-0 with 20 strikeouts and a 4.54 ERA over 35-plus innings. The 6-foot-2 sophomore from Kentucky pitches for Mount St. Joseph University.
Nevada’s Koufax Cranmer has also been a useful hill topper for the 57’s. He’s 1-2 with one save and 17 strikeouts in 21.2 innings. The 5-foot-10 righty pitches for Dominican University when he’s not at Mitchell Field.
WEST DIVISION
There are six Alberta teams in the West Division, including the Okotoks Dawgs, Lethbridge Bulls, Sylvan Lake Gulls, Energy City Cactus Rats, Fort McMurray Giants and Brooks Bombers. The Gulls are the defending West Division champs.
Okotoks Dawgs
The Dawgs are bringing a handful of high-calibre stars with them to Saskatchewan.
Third baseman Connor Crowson – who was named the WCBL’s Most Outstanding Canadian in 2025 – will be on the West Division roster. The Okotoks native and Dawgs Academy grad is among the league’s top hitters in terms of batting average (.439), on-base percentage (.585), OPS (1.269), hits (43), and walks (29). The “Crow Show” also has 45 runs, 30 RBI, eight doubles, four round trippers and 10 stolen bases in 28 games.
Fleet-footed Cal Gates will be available for outfield duty. The 20-year-old student at Indiana University is batting .466 with a .566 on-base percentage, 26 runs, 17 RBI, 16 walks and 21 stolen bases through 21 contests.
Catcher Jayden Lusk sports a .306 batting average and a .470 on-base percentage, while registering 20 RBI, 22 runs and 22 walks in the Dawgs high-octane offence. Lusk is a lefty batter from North Hills, California who is coming off his freshman season at Vernon College.
Right-handed pitcher Tyson Willis has assembled a 3-1 record while sitting down 19 batters via strikeout in 21 innings. He has a 5.14 ERA and has allowed only four walks so far this season. The Washington product pitched this year at George Mason University.
Bullpen ace Wyatt Sadleir will join Willis and his Okotoks teammates. The Calgarian, who attends North Central Texas College, has a 1.96 ERA, 22 strikeouts and one win in 18-plus innings.
Lethbridge Bulls
Former WCBL All-Star Game MVP Kalem Haney has earned another All-Star nod. The infielder and outfielder with the Bulls has 32 runs, 20 RBI, 35 hits, 26 walks, four homers and eight steals for Lethbridge through 25 games. The Vauxhall Academy grad has suited up at the University of Mary in North Dakota over the last few years.
Utility player Cardel Dick will also rep the Bulls on the West Division roster. In 26 games, the product of Abbotsford, British Columbia is batting .295 with a .424 on-base percentage, as well as 15 runs, 15 RBI and 16 bases on balls. A veteran with Lethbridge, Dick has studied at the University of Nebraska Omaha since 2024.
Shortstop Jack Wheatley also gets the call. He is batting .354 with a .441 on-base percentage in 16 games. The 6-foot-3 Calgarian is a pupil at the College of Southern Nevada.
Look for Eastern Arizona College southpaw Brett Getz as on option for mound work. The Medicine Hat native has played for the Bombers, Mavericks and Bulls during his WCBL career. This season he is 2-0 with 21 strikeouts and a 4.13 ERA in 24 innings with Lethbridge.
Right-handed reliever Lucas Huynh also made the cut. The 6-foot-3 hurler with the University of British Columbia (UBC) Thunderbirds already has four saves and a win in just 8.1 innings of work. The Vancouver product has six strikeouts and has not yielded a run this season with the Bulls.
Sylvan Lake Gulls
Brayden Stewart will suit up for the West Division as a righty pitcher out of Sylvan Lake. In 16-plus innings with the Gulls, he has two saves, a 2.70 ERA and 30 strikeouts this season. The 6-foot-3 reliever brings experience from the University of the Cumberlands.
Calgarian Kai Rempel is 2-1 with a 2.00 ERA and 18 Ks in his 18 frames with the Lake Boys. The 20-year-old is in his third season with the Gulls after putting in work with Cloud County Community College over the last two years.
Second baseman Maddox Shaver has been a consistent hitter with Sylvan Lake this season. He’s put together a .333 batting average and a .477 on-base percentage, while recording 27 runs, 17 RBI, six home runs, 15 walks and 12 stolen bases in 26 games. The Kaiser University infielder and former Brooks Bomber calls Belleville, Ontario home.
Elijha Hammill, who also hails from Ontario, will represent the Gulls, as well. The 22-year-old outfielder and Niagara University pupil is a switch hitter with a .368 batting average and .422 on-base percentage in 16 WCBL games in 2026. He’s collected 15 runs, 12 RBI, five doubles, five homers and three swiped bags.
Backstop Rece Schuerman has also found success in central Alberta. The Spokane, Washington native and member of the Gonzaga Bulldogs has 12 RBI, 10 runs, nine doubles and four stolen bases in 19 games while framing pitches for the Gulls.
Brooks Bombers
Two-way player Owen Fernandes has done it all for the Bombers this summer. The Maple Ridge, British Columbia native has racked up 29 strikeouts over 28 innings, while producing 10 runs, 10 RBI, 12 hits and five homers in 11 games at the plate. Fernandes studies at Yavapai College.
Righty moundsman Jack Swanberg has gone 1-1 for the Bombers while generating 31 punchouts and walking just nine batters in 23 innings. The 6-foot-2 Californian also has a 4.30 ERA in the WCBL this year.
Texas A&M International University player Asahi Nakano has put up solid numbers with the Bomb Squad. In 25 games, the Japanese slugger has a .360 batting average, .434 on-base percentage, 36 hits, 17 runs, 17 RBI, three long flies, 11 walks and four stolen bases.
Maverick McAllister has also been effective while playing second base in Brooks. The Texan has 39 hits, 20 runs, 16 RBI, eight doubles, 12 swipes and a .345 batting average in 28 WCBL contests.
Lefty hitter Ben Simmons has contributed a .315 batting average, 13 RBI, 11 runs, eight doubles and two homers to the offensive production in his 18 games. The catcher from Ottawa, Ontario is a Vauxhall Academy grad who attends Eastern Arizona College.
Fort McMurray Giants
Nick Sauve has been a key part of the batting lineup in Fort Mac. The catcher has 19 RBI, 17 runs and seven home runs in 24 games for the Giants. Sauve is in his second campaign with the Giants after excelling for Okanagan College in the Canadian College Baseball Conference (CCBC).
Joining Sauve on the West Division team is infielder Marcos Arocho, who is batting .357 with 18 runs, 17 RBI, seven doubles, three long balls and six stolen bases through 27 games. The Arecibo, Puerto Rico product plays collegiately with Oakland City University.
Meanwhile, Brett Petillo is a utility player with the Giants who carries a .298 batting average, 18 RBI, 15 runs, 10 doubles and two homers into the middle stretch of the WCBL season. He is a Dallas College Brookhaven student.
Reliever Bradyn Schneider has one save and nine strikeouts for Fort McMurray and has a 4.30 ERA in his 14.2 innings this season. The 6-foot-3 southpaw joined the Giants from Redondo Beach, California.
Mark Tor has gone 1-1 in his 29.1 innings with the Giants. The righty has 18 strikeouts and a 5.83 ERA. The pride of Homer Glen, Illinois is a senior with the Edgewood University Eagles.
Energy City Cactus Rats
The Cactus Rats are sending a lefty and a righty pitcher to Saskatoon to put in work for the West Division All-Stars.
Southpaw Saul Mata is 2-3 in his 23 innings with Energy City. He has 27 strikeouts and a 5.09 ERA on the WCBL circuit so far this year. The New Yorker has attended Iona University for the last three years.
Sebastian Mizener, a righthander, is 1-2 with 14 Ks in 18 innings. The Ancaster, Ontario native has taken the mound for Mayville State University.
In 20 games with Energy City, Riley Kwak is batting .297 with a .439 on-base percentage. He’s generated 17 runs, 16 walks and six stolen bases. The 19-year-old infielder and outfielder is a Bossier Parrish Community College student.
Infielder Micah Cervantes will also represent the Cactus Rats at All-Star Weekend. In 14 games, the California State University – East Bay player has a .370 batting average, .444 on-base percentage, 12 runs and six stolen bases.
Japan’s Seiji Umezawa has 17 hits, 14 RBI, three homers and four stolen bases in his 26 games with the Cactus Rats. He has played the last two years at Sussex Community College in New Jersey.
ALL-STAR GAME SCHEDULE
The Saskatoon Berries are juiced to invite the best of the WCBL to NexGen Patch at Cairns Field for a full weekend celebrating the top talent in the league.
For the first time in league history, the All-Star festivities – presented by SIGA Rewards – are expanding to include an entire weekend of action, featuring live music, skills competitions and plenty of excitement.
The party gets started on Saturday, July 18th, with doors opening at 3:30 p.m., followed by the WCBL All-Stars participating in a bunt competition, presented by Parktown Hotels, at 4 p.m..
Up-and-coming baseball stars will take the field at 5 p.m. to compete in the Little League Home Run Derby before making way for the top sluggers in the league, who will bash baseballs and compete in the WCBL Home Run Derby. That long-ball event gets underway at 6 p.m.
The first day of festivities will be capped off with a performance from Saskatchewan country music artist Jordyn Pollard, who will jam in the plaza at NexGen Patch at 7:45 p.m.
On Sunday, July 19th, the doors open at 11:30 a.m., giving fans plenty of time to grab a drink, a hot dog, and find their seats for the main event, the WCBL All-Star Game, which starts at 1 p.m.
Fans can stick around after the star-studded matchup for autograph sessions, so bring a pen and a baseball and get ready to meet your favourite player!
“When planning the events for All-Star Weekend we wanted to do things differently. We love to add fun and flavour into everything we do. Having new events like the Bunt Competition and Little League Home Run Derby does this, while showcasing the additional talent of our WCBL stars, as well as the future stars in our province,” said Allison Hlady, the brand and promotions manager with the Saskatoon Berries.
“The live Jordyn Pollard concert to top off an already juiced up first day is something we are really looking forward to sharing with the fans. For the All-Star Game itself we have a bundle of fun games and attractions for the fans to enjoy while catching some of the best baseball our league has to offer.”
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