Betts: MacDonald, Perry share Michigan connection at Road to Okotoks

Zach MacDonald (Lacombe, Alta.), left, and Jack Perry (Mississauga, Ont.), right, both committed to the University of Michigan, started against each other in a play-in game at Baseball Canada’s Road to Okotoks national championship on Saturday. MacDonald started for the Sylvan Lake Gulls Prep team, while Perry got the starting nod for the Terriers. Photos: X

July 18, 2026

By Matt Betts

Canadian Baseball Network

The play-in game between the Sylvan Lake Gulls Prep and Terriers at the Baseball Canada Road to Okotoks national championship was extra special for starting pitchers Zach MacDonald and Jack Perry.

)MacDonald, (Lacombe, Alta..)and Perry, (Mississauga, Ont. native, may have grown up almost 3,500 kilometres apart, but they’ll both soon call Ann Arbor, Mich. home after committing to the University of Michigan last year.

For seven innings on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Seaman Stadium, however, they remained rivals.

MacDonald, who was picked up from the Webber Academy Wildcats, and the Gulls would walk away with the win, 3-1, to advance.

MacDonald allowed just one run over 6 2/3 innings in his start.

It was the second time Sylvan Lake downed the Terriers in the tournament after beating them 5-0 earlier in the week.

MacDonald was well aware he was facing his future teammate.

“It was good,” MacDonald said with a smile. “It was the first time meeting him this week, it was nice to put name to face. He reached out to me on Instagram prior to this tournament. We exchange some words, pumped each other up, wishing each other a good tournament.”

Perry, who permitted three runs in six innings in his start for the Terriers, confirmed the back-and-forth banter, although he admitted there was a little bit of trash talk on his end.

“I was texting him earlier this week letting him know we were going to beat him, but we didn’t get it done,” Perry said. “It’s always nice being able to look across the diamond and see someone that will be there with me. He did a fantastic job today, too.”

Perry, a 2026 graduate, will arrive on campus in the coming weeks to begin his college career. MacDonald will have to wait a little longer as a 2027 grad.

Both hope to anchor Michigan’s rotation in the years to come, and if Saturday’s game was any indication, the Wolverines should be optimistic.

Not to mention Wolverines head coach Tracy Smith seems to love his Canadian pitchers.

Left-hander Connor O’Halloran (Mississauga, Ont.), right-hander Kurt Barr (St. Joachim, Ont.), right-hander Tate Carey (Windsor, Ont.)) southpaw Shane Brinham (North Vancouver, BC) and new, New York Mets sign Keegan O’Hearn (Oshawa, Ont.) all played important roles on Smith’s pitching staff past and present.

It was Smith and pitching coach Brock Huntzinger who helped make up Perry’s mind on his future college home.

“The academics are No. 1, it’s a beautiful campus, beautiful facilities and it’s always nice when you have a staff as excited as you are for you to get on campus,” Perry said. “Tracy Smith is a leader. It’s easy to like the staff. Brock is someone I like talking to and I enjoy talking baseball with him.”

With his high school career coming to an end in the weeks ahead, Perry feels the Road to Okotoks experience will benefit him well as he continues in his career.

“It’s hard to come out here and not be like ‘oh my goodness,’” Perry said. “The stadium is beautiful and you have to recognize the competition is amazing. I love being in those high pressure situations.”