Shewchuk named WCBL's top umpire

Ron Shewchuk has been named the winner of the Western Canadian Baseball League’s Mitch Ball Memorial Award, as the circuit’s top umpire. Photo: WCBL

*This article was originally published on the Western Canadian Baseball League website on October 9. You can read it here.

October 10, 2025

By Ian Wilson

Western Canadian Baseball League

The Western Canadian Baseball League has named Ron Shewchuk as the top umpire on the summer collegiate circuit for the 2025 season.

Rob Allan, the league's supervisor of umpires, named the veteran official as the winner of the Mitch Ball Memorial Award, which is given annually to the WCBL Umpire of the Year.

"Ron Shewchuk is a leader on and off the field. Ron has been umpiring in the WCBL since 2014 and has averaged about 60 games per season," said Allan.

"Not only did Ron umpire in 69 games in the WCBL this year, which including nine playoff games and the All-Star game, but he also was a video supervisor for 91 games. The video supervision was a new program that we started this year where we had an umpire supervisor watch almost every game via video and give feedback to the WCBL umpires. So, Ron on most days would video supervise two games from the previous day and then go umpire a game in the evening. Ron is instrumental to umpire development in the WCBL."

League President Kevin Kvame noted Shewchuk's relentless dedication to his craft in acknowledging the award winner.

"This prestigious award goes to one of our long-time umpires, Ron Shewchuk, whose commitment and dedication to the WCBL and umpiring in general is outstanding. Ron’s desire for making every umpire the best they can be solidifies his selection as the recipient of this award this year. This desire follows in the legacy of Mitch Ball, who the award is named after,” said Kvame.

"On behalf of the entire Board of Governors of the WCBL, congratulations Ron for a job well done. See you in 2026!"

Mitch Ball was an elite and accomplished umpire who passed away in 2021.

"Thank you very much for this honour. Mitch Ball was a very good friend of mine. In fact, I was one of the speakers at his tribute. When we umpire, it is important to take the values that Mitch took with him on the field every day. Mitch never took a pitch or play off. He worked the game with passion and integrity and that is something that I strive to do every game," said Shewchuk.

"This award is recognition of the work that I do on a daily basis in the WCBL. More than just umpiring, I feel this award is a tribute to the work that I do as a crew chief, evaluator, mentor and sounding board for the umpires in the league ... umpiring almost every day requires a commitment and that is what I hopefully bring to the field every day."

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENTS

The Western Canadian Baseball League is giving special recognition to one player and one team as a result of their accomplishments in 2025.

Joshua Tucker of the Sylvan Lake Gulls made WCBL history this summer by becoming the first pitcher to record more than 300 career strikeouts. The southpaw from Spokane, Washington appeared in 46 games for the Gulls between 2022 and 2025. In his 222 2/3 regular season and playoff innings, Tucker went 19-7 with 311 strikeouts.

The Saskatoon Berries also had a record-setting campaign. The purple-clad team from Saskatchewan's biggest city went 46-9 and finished first overall in the regular season. The 46 wins set a new high for victories, breaking a record that was set by the Gulls in 2024 when Sylvan Lake registered 44 regular-season wins. The Berries also set new WCBL team records for runs scored in a single season, with 495; runs batted in (RBIs), with 415; and total bases, with 967.