Betts: BMOC - Kilbreath beats ex-UBC mates, Anderson, Krahn

Former UBC right-hander Tyson Kilbreath (Calgary, Alta.) pitched five scoreless innings for Arizona Christian University against his former team on Saturday. Photo: ACU Athletics

February 2, 2026

By Matt Betts

Canadian Baseball Network

It was a start Tyson Kilbreath had been thinking about for months. 

On paper, Saturday’s showdown between NAIA No. 15 Arizona Christian University and No. 10 University of British Columbia was an early season ranked matchup in what’s a lengthy college campaign.  

But for Kilbreath (Calgary, Alta.), it was an opportunity to face his former team. 

The Webber Academy Wildcats graduate spent the 2023-24 season in Vancouver with the Thunderbirds, making 11 relief appearances before transferring to the College of the Sequoias and eventually ACU. 

“It was a lot of fun,” Kilbreath said of the start. 

“This start has been weighing on me for a while. Coach Mac (Joe McDonald) told me I’d be starting this game back in May when I committed to ACU, so it’s been in the back of my mind. It was probably the most emotional start of my career but I was glad to get the ball.” 

If there were nerves, it didn’t show, as he worked five scoreless innings in a 3-1 Firestorm win. He allowed one hit, walked three and struck out five. 

Making the start for UBC was Kilbreath’s one-time roommate, right-hander James Brock (Burnaby, BC). Brock spun six innings and surrendered three runs on four hits and a walk with nine punch outs. 

The familiar faces continued in the batter’s box, as fellow Calgary natives Kellen Bourne and Kyle Yip started in left field and behind the plate. The trio played together on the 12U Cal Ripken Team Canada squad in their younger years. Kilbreath held Bourne hitless in four at bats, fanning him twice. Yip found more success, going 2-for-4, although he also struck out twice. 

Kilbreath holds no ill-will towards his time at UBC. Health issues and opportunity were behind his reasons for transferring. 

“I have a lot of memories and friends up there and I wish them nothing but the best,” he said. 

“The pitching staff at UBC was always very strong, so I think transferring to College of the Sequoias gave me the ability to throw 70-plus innings and more importantly gave me the opportunity to fail. I needed to figure some things out with the mental game and knowing I would take the ball for a start every week definitely helped with that.” 

The decision is paying off both on and off the field. 

On it, he’s thrown seven scoreless innings in a pair of starts to begin his season. 

Off of it, he’s found peace and a love for the game that isn’t dictated by every success and failure. 

“I realized that baseball is not who I am,” he said. 

“I needed to pitch and I needed to fail to learn that baseball is just a game. Having this realization gave me the freedom to go out there and compete without putting so much pressure on myself.” 

While he’d love to help pitch the Firestorm to its second NAIA World Series in the past five seasons, Kilbreath is taking small steps he hopes will lead to where he wants to go. 

“One thing I learned at junior college was that outcome expectations can sometimes be the start of your unravelling,” he said. 

“My goal is just to trust myself and make good pitches and continue to learn how to be a better competitor.” 

More from ACU: 

Kilbreath isn’t the only Canadian playing for the Firestorm. Right-hander Colin Plain (Saskatoon, Sask.) struck out the side in his inning of work in an 11-0 victory over Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. 

ACU is 4-2 to start the season. 

T-Bird talk: 

UBC opened the season with four games last week, finishing 2-2. 

Infielder David Krahn (Langley, BC) led the charge offensively with a .438 average and a 1.287 OPS. Krahn and Bourne each hit a two-run home run in an 11-4 season opening victory over Nelson University. 

Lefty Will Anderson (Delta, BC) picked up where he left off in 2025, when he went 7-2 with a 3.35 ERA. In a 5-2 loss to Ottawa University, Anderson tossed five scoreless innings, allowing an unearned run on two hits with eight strikeouts.