McFarland: Dawgs Academy 18U Black team nearing top of Perfect Game rankings
The Dawgs Academy 18U Black team won six of the seven elite tournament championships on their schedule. Photo: Okotoks Dawgs Academy
*This article was originally published on Alberta Dugout Stories on September 2, 2025. You can read it here.
September 3, 2025
By Joe McFarland
Canadian Baseball Network
They are onto the scent of being the top high school program in North America.
After capturing an incredible record of 60 wins, five losses and one tie during the season, the Dawgs Academy 18U Black team in Okotoks has risen to new heights in the eyes of Perfect Game.
The U.S.-based organization has touted the Dawgs as the number two high school program on the continent in its annual end-of-season rankings.
It’s been a steady rise to the top for the Alberta contingent, who finished third on the 2024 list.
Head coach Jeff Duda says the success, which includes winning six of seven major tournaments including the Perfect Game 18U World Series in Atlanta and the Best of the West in Canada, is due to a variety of factors.
“First and foremost, our whole academy is like a brotherhood – a family,” he told Alberta Dugout Stories.
Photo: Perfect Game
“Our guys spend a lot of time together, more than they do with their families and, through that, they develop strong relationships where every guy wants to see the next succeed as much as they want to, but more importantly, they all play for the name across the chest.”
Add in standards and expectations from the coaching staff and the foundation laid out by previous Dawgs teams, and Duda says they are worthy of the accolades and recognitions bestowed upon them.
BUILDING ON STRENGTHS
With teams from 13U all the way up, the Dawgs have created their own pipeline of talent, building a winning chemistry early on.
Duda says the younger teams see what the older teams are doing and want to replicate that each year.
“The biggest advantage we have as a program is the combination of facilities and coaching,” says the three-time WCBL champion (2007-2009). “We are very fortunate to have the time and resources to be able to break things down to the most fundamental level, allowing us to optimize each individual’s development as a whole.”
While other programs might be focusing on games, he says they spend five months of their season on skill development through swing mechanics, hitting approaches and, most importantly, strength.
“It’s arguably the most important aspect of our player development,” Duda continued.
“Strength is the single biggest component in our players accelerating their skill development, and our strength program is outstanding.”
From there, he says they build a comprehensive and competitive schedule including the Fall College Tour, in-house Fall League and an Arizona Junior College Spring Training trip to put the players’ skills to the test while also giving them a taste of what college baseball is all about.
TO BE THE BEST…
It doesn’t hurt to expose the young players to quality college baseball on their home turf as well.
Every summer, the academy players are able to interact with and watch the Western Canadian Baseball League’s Okotoks Dawgs in action at Seaman Stadium.
When you have a run of three-straight championships as the Dawgs did between 2022 and 2024, it’s bound to leave an impression, both on those already in the academy and those thinking about joining.
While they have been a top destination for players across Canada, the Dawgs are, for the most part, a local litter.
Duda says it starts with a basic eye test with certain tools needing to jump out to the coaching staff, then it’s a matter of getting kids in as quick as they can.
“We are really trying to get them in our program at an earlier age to maximize their development during their most transformative years of youth baseball,” said the Washington Nationals associate scout.
“The typical traits we look for in recruits would be character, good academic standing, work ethic, the desire to take their game to the highest level possible, and just a genuine love for the game and competing.”
The athletes are then exposed to the coaching prowess of the Dawgs, which includes former MLBers like Lou Pote and Matt Stairs, as well as some current professional players during the winter like Tristan Peters, Matt Lloyd, Gavin Logan and Matt Wilkinson.
“All these players that came through our program and came back … they have really created a sort of headquarters of baseball knowledge for the youth game,” said Dawgs founding director John Ircandia during the WCBL All-Star Game broadcast. “It’s just phenomenal.”
PUTTING IN THE WORK
When you have a roster featuring 24 college recruits including nine NCAA Division 1 signees, you’re bound to have success on the field.
The Dawgs 18U Black squad also featured a pair of top-notch prospects in fifth-round MLB draft pick Tim Piasentin (Toronto Blue Jays) and non-drafted free agent signee Max Poirier (Kansas City Royals).
For Piasentin, he says moving from B.C. to the Dawgs allowed him to focus on strength and the mechanics of his powerful left-hitting swing.
“With the Dawgs, you have 24-hour access to pretty much the best facilities in Canada,” Piasentin said in a recent Canadian Baseball Network interview. “And the coaches are always there because it’s their full-time job. They were always there when I needed help.”
Capitalizing on the “if you can see it, you can be it” mantra, the younger Dawgs players are able to see the work being put in by current and up-and-coming professionals, then take it into their own games.
Pitcher Tyson Kajmowicz came to the Dawgs from a variety of programs around Calgary and says it’s been a “mind-blowing experience” getting to work beside and be teammates with players like Piasentin, Robert Scalzo and Will Labonte.
“Guys like that push you to be the best you can be,” he told Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast. “We all played for one another and played for the name across the chest.”
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Listen to Alberta Dugout Stories interview Tyson Kajmowicz here.
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Kajmowicz was one of the Dawgs players named to Team Alberta for the Canada Summer Games and is set to join a long list who have suited up at the Blue Jays Academy Canadian Futures Showcase, which is set for this September.
HARD TO BEAT
Seeing the players succeed at baseball and in life is clearly what means the most to Duda and the coaching staff.
He says it’s great to get the recognition through rankings like Perfect Game, but it’s not the reason he or anyone else around the academy does it.
“Our number one goal as a program is to provide our players with the opportunity to play baseball at the highest level possible for each individual, while helping develop them into exceptional young men, using baseball as the vehicle to teach life lessons that will serve them far beyond the field,” Duda said.
The effort has been noted by the top Dawg, as Ircandia says the successes of the academy and collegiate programs has gone hand-in-hand.
In fact, he says the academy program has driven the college program, as without the original youth teams, there would never have been need for the Dawgs summer collegiate team and no need for the mecca known as Seaman Stadium or the adjacent fields.
“We grew from the academy up and not vice-versa,” Ircandia said. “The opportunities that our coaches create with these facilities for our players at the high school level is unreal … and it’s hard to beat.”
The Dawgs placing in the Perfect Game rankings is proof of that, with just one more spot to go before becoming the top squad in North America.