The Rhoades Show

Despite a valiant effort from Ian Heck of the Weyburn Beavers in the final, Fort McMurray Giants star Matt Rhoades captures Saturday’s Western Canadian Baseball League Home Run Derby champion.

Baseball Bashers Ready for Derby

The field has been set for the Western Canadian Baseball League’s 2025 Home Run Derby.

The event – part of the All-Star Game festivities taking place on Saturday, July 19th at Seaman Stadium in Okotoks – gets underway at 5 p.m. and it will feature a dozen long-ball launchers, one from each WCBL team.

Here’s a closer look at the 12 participants …

7th Inning Stretch: Jackson Martin

He might not be the biggest player on the roster, but Jackson Martin is hoping to have biggest impact with the Moose Jaw Miller Express this summer.

At 5-foot-8 and 180 pounds, the sophomore outfielder craves the opportunity to drive in timely runs or make big catches.

WCBL Players to Watch

They are the unleashers of long balls, the ground ball vacuums, the base burglars and the strikeout artists that fans get excited to see every summer.

With the 2025 Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) season upon us, it’s time to take a closer look at some of the returning veteran players who have brought us to our feet in previous years.

2025 WCBL Season Preview

Baseball heroics are on deck.

The last time we saw the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) in action, Connor Crowson was stumbling around the bases of Seaman Stadium and arriving at home plate to a championship celebration in front of 6,341 screaming fans.

It was Crowson’s solo home run in the bottom of the ninth that served as a walk-off tiebreaker against the Moose Jaw Miller Express and delivered a three-peat title to the Okotoks Dawgs. The hometown hero made the final play of the WCBL postseason a decisive and memorable one in the 6-5 triumph.

Who will play the role of hero in 2025?

7th Inning Stretch: Kam Sparrowhawk

It’s been a long road to success for Kam Sparrowhawk.

The Regina native had a tough time in his freshman season at Taft College.

He’s moved to the University of Fraser Valley, where’s he become a key piece of their starting rotation.

Ride into the Helland Zone

Reece Helland is about to put the wraps on an outstanding playing career.

The Moose Jaw native and Miller Express alum put an exclamation point on it by setting the MidAmerica Nazarene record for career saves.

Moose Jaw Miller Express 2025 Preview

They were so very close.

Not only did the Moose Jaw Miller Express push the Okotoks Dawgs to a winner-take-all Game 3 of the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) championship series, the underdog squad scored a pair of late runs to even the score entering the ninth inning of that contest.

It took the home-run heroics of hometown hero Connor Crowson in the bottom of the ninth to break the tie, deliver the Dawgs a 6-5 victory, and secure a three-peat title for Okotoks.

The Miller Express were right there, when few expected them to be.

So, what’s next for Moose Jaw?

7th Inning Stretch: Nathan Varjassy

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.

The Moose Jaw native is entering his third season with the Dinos and is hoping to be a bigger piece of a championship run.

Q&A with Nate Mensik

He earned the nickname of “Mayor of Moose Jaw” and became one of the most popular players to ever put on a Miller Express uniform.

After wrapping up his final season of playing in the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) last summer, Nebraska-born Nate Mensik took time to chat about his time playing in Canada and look ahead to what’s next for him in baseball.