Berries' Carnahan named WCBL Coach of the Year

Joe Carnahan, of the Saskatoon Berries, has been named Western Canadian Baseball League Coach of the Year. Photo: WCBL

*This article was originally published on the Western Canadian Baseball League website on October 3. You can read it here.

October 4, 2025

By Ian Wilson

Western Canadian Baseball League

The Saskatoon Berries were a behemoth during the 2025 Western Canadian Baseball League campaign.

The club set a new record for victories in a regular season by going 46-9 to finish first overall in the WCBL standings.

They only lost back-to-back games once during the summer and their season included an 11-game winning streak and a 10-game unbeaten string.

In addition to their .836 winning percentage, the Berries set new WCBL team records for runs scored in a single season, with 495; runs batted in (RBI), with 415; and total bases, with 967.

Saskatoon also led the circuit in hits (635), home runs (67), stolen bases (152), slugging percentage (.484), batting average (.318), and OPS (.893).

As potent as their offence was, the Berries’ pitching allowed the fewest earned runs (196) in the league while issuing the lowest walk total (160). Their walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) total of 1.27 and earned run average of 3.66 were also the best in the WCBL.

Head coach Joe Carnahan was at the helm for all of it.

In just the Berries second year in the league, the team was firing on all cylinders.

As a result of the tremendous success of the Berries, Carnahan has been selected as the 2025 WCBL Coach of the Year by a panel of 22 voters, including fellow WCBL head coaches, team executives, broadcasters and sports reporters who cover the league. Each voter was asked to submit their first, second and third choices for the league's major awards.

"I view this as more of an organizational award than an individual award. The players had energy every day and loved competing. Very fortunate to have a great coaching staff that not only did a good job with the players day-to-day, but also made it a lot of fun," said Carnahan.

Joining Carnahan in the dugout this summer were assistant coaches Chance Wheatley and Ariben Gutierrez, as well as pitching coach Ryan Olchoway.

The baseball operations staff also included equipment manager Max Hildebrand, athletic therapist Kacey Marcinkiw, student trainer Jasmine Temoshawsky and clubhouse attendant Patrick Janex.

"The organization and front office holds a high standard in how we operate on and off the field. They provide our coaching staff and players with resources to be successful, and everything they do is first class. Mix all that in with the support we receive from the fans and the city, it makes Saskatoon a special place for players and coaches," said Carnahan, who also tipped his cap to a highly competitive roster.

"It was a group of guys that enjoyed coming to the park every day, having fun, and competing with one another. Very rewarding group to have had the opportunity to work with."

In capturing the honour, Carnahan beat out Regina Red Sox skipper Rye Pothakos and Jason Chatwood, who was in his final season as head coach of the Sylvan Lake Gulls.

This is Carnahan's fifth Coach of the Year award and his first with the Berries. He claimed that title four times as a member of the Swift Current 57's in the Western Major Baseball League (WMBL), the predecessor of the WCBL.