Dawgs' John Ircandia named 14th most influential Canadian
Okotoks Dawgs managing John Ircandia has been named the 14 most influential Canadian in baseball on Bob Elliott’s annual top 100 list. Photo: Okotoks Dawgs
January 26, 2021
Official Okotoks Dawgs Press Release
Okotoks, Alta. – The Okotoks Dawgs Baseball Club and the Dawgs Baseball Academy (the “Dawgs”) are proud to announce that founding and managing director, John Ircandia, has been ranked as the 14th Most Influential Canadian in Baseball by the Canadian Baseball Network (“CBN”).
The annual rankings are a “Who’s Who” in baseball including current and former major league players, owners, broadcasters and executives. Topping the 2020 list was recent Hall of Famer, Larry Walker, followed by Alex Anthopoulos, general manager of the Atlanta Braves, Edward Rogers, Chairman of Rogers Communications, owners of the Toronto Blue Jays and Freddie Freeman of the Atlanta Braves, 2020 National League MVP.
The CBN noted that in a year when the world experienced some of its most challenging times as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ircandia managed the Dawgs through a $1.5 million expansion to the already beautiful Seaman Stadium, now a $22 million complex of stadiums, youth diamonds and both outdoor and indoor training facilities all dedicated to youth and amateur baseball.
The recent expansion has been labeled Core 4 (+14) Corner in homage to the original Dawgs Youth Team, the origin of what is widely regarded as the preeminent youth development program in the country. Under Ircandia’s direction, the summer collegiate Dawgs with attendance of 4,000 fans per game, 100,000 per season, are ranked third in North America while the Academy Dawgs have been ranked by Perfect Game as No. 3 among elite academy and travel teams in the United States and Canada.
The CBN also pointed out that despite the pandemic, the Dawgs Academy in 2020 graduated multiple players to leading NCAA Division 1 universities and colleges, including top ranked Oregon State, Tennessee, Washington, Oregon, Washington State, George Mason and Marshall University. Overall, Dawgs Academy players will have garnered over $1.8M in college scholarships commencing in 2020.
In recognition of this track record, several Academy coaches, including Academy general manager, Tyler Hollick and head coach, Jeff Duda, received Honorable Mentions on the prestigious list. Current Dawgs Academy parent, Marc Griffin (son, Hank moved from Quebec to join the Dawgs this past year), was signaled out as No. 96 on the CBN List. Griffin is a former MLB prospect with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Montreal Expos and is currently a baseball broadcaster.
Former Dawgs player and Niagara University All American, Vincent Ircandia was also tabbed for an Honorable Mention given his current role as the CEO and founder of StellarAlgo Corp., a sports business analytics firm whose clients include the Portland Trailblazers and several NBA teams, Major League Baseball teams, including the Kansas City Royals, New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays, various NHL teams, as well as special events like the US Open Tennis Championships.