Fort Mac Attack

March 23, 2021 7:03 pm | by WCBL | Posted In Feature News, News

“Shop local” has become a mantra of our times.

The Fort McMurray Giants of the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) are heeding that call and doing their part to promote baseball talent from the northern Alberta community this summer.

“We are very excited to have a new core of players that have been born and raised here in Fort McMurray. It’s a potential core of this team for years to come,” said Andrew Bradbury, the coordinator of scouting and recruiting for the Giants.

That core includes Max Poole, a right-handed pitcher (RHP) playing for Mars Hill University in Division II of the NCAA; RHP Sean Dunn of Okanagan College; Prairie Baseball Academy (PBA) outfielder Mark Chappelle; Bailey Coish, a freshman outfielder with the Frank Phillips College Plainsmen; University of British Columbia (UBC) infielder/outfielder Adam Canete; and Bossier Parish Community College infielder Justin Breen.

It’s quite the assembly of Fort Mac-nurtured hitters and pitchers.

EAST MEETS WEST

Joining the contingent of local lads, will be baseball players from across the country.

Cameron Brewer – a 6-foot-5 RHP originally from Paradise, Newfoundland – has been added to the roster and he won’t be the only player suiting up in Alberta from Eastern Canada.

After experiencing success recruiting from Ontario University Athletics (OUA) teams, the Giants have added a pair of players from that circuit once again. Alex Nolan, a Brock Badgers pitcher inked by the Toronto Blue Jays organization, and Queens University RHP Will Langford, a WCBL All-Star in 2019, count themselves among the alumni of the Fort McMurray Giants.

“We went back to the OUA and brought in one of the toughest pitchers in the league and an up-and-coming outfielder,” said Bradbury of his 2021 additions, RHP Julian Tymochko from McMaster University, and slugger Spencer Voisin of the Waterloo Warriors.

The Giants also looked to a couple of Toronto products for help, bringing in Dennis Dei Baning and Shaw Bowser.

“Dennis is an outfielder with a really big bat who has hit wherever he has played, and Shaw is a young left-handed pitcher with some NJCAA experience who has been putting in a lot of work to hone his craft and make a difference in the WCBL,” noted Bradbury.

CANADIAN CONTENT

Western Canucks also drew the attention of Bradbury, including those who play in the Canadian College Baseball Conference (CCBC).

On the bump, the Giants have added southpaw Jordan Moffatt and righty Aden Richardson from Vancouver Island University (VIU), as well as Triston Seitz out of Thompson Rivers University. University of Calgary RHP Brendan Loeppky, and pitcher Halen Knoll of the Edmonton Baseball Collegiate Club have also signed on with the Giants, as has infielder Josh Berenbaum of the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades.

Meanwhile, Keith Manby – a native of White Rock, British Columbia – will look to pick up where he left off when he pitched for the Giants in 2019. During that summer of action, he went 3-5 with a 4.16 earned run average and 38 strikeouts over 45.1 innings pitched in the WCBL.

Other notable signings for Fort McMurray include: corner infielder Colton Schaper-Kotter, infielder Mason Glowacki, RHP Ryan Estey, catcher/infielder Logan Grant, backstop James Mitchell, slugger Will Gardner, RHP Josh Ironside, outfielder Erik Lemberg, hulking first baseman Cooper Huckabone, hitter Cole Cote and power pitcher Jarod Leroux, who currently plays for Cloud County Community College.

While Bradbury is excited about his all-Canadian roster, he also offered gratitude to other players who had expressed an early interest in playing in Alberta.

“The Fort McMurray Giants would like to thank all of our out-of-country players that had committed to our organization. We hope to see them next year,” he said.

For the latest information on the Fort McMurray Giants, check out their website or follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.