Wilson: CBN All-Canadian teams feature WCBL talent

Okotoks Dawgs slugger Connor Crowson (Okotoks, Alta.) was voted the third baseman on the 2025 Canadian Baseball Network All-Canadian College First Team. Photo: Canadian Baseball Network

*This article was originally published on Alberta Dugout Stories on November 5. You can read it here.

November 6, 2025

By Ian Wilson

Alberta Dugout Stories

The Canadian Baseball Network has released its trio of All-Canadian Teams and Western Canadian Baseball League players figure prominently in the honours.

Bob Elliott, the founder of CBN, revealed the first, second and third team lineups in staggered announcements that wrapped up on Nov. 4.

The 26th annual ranking of 1,185 Canadians who play collegiate baseball was decided by 49 voters, including 17 coaches, 17 writers, seven scouts, five executives and two players.

FIRST TEAM ALL-CANADIANS

Connor Crowson was named the top third baseman after batting .368 with 13 doubles, 16 home runs and 62 runs batted in (RBI) in his 54 games with the University of Montevallo Falcons. The Okotoks native earned Gulf South Conference (GSC) Second-Team All-Conference recognition, as well as a pair of Player of the Week Awards.

As a member of the Okotoks Dawgs in the WCBL this summer, Crowson led the league in on-base percentage (.503) and collected 51 runs, 45 RBI and a .401 batting average over 47 games. The corner infielder was named the league’s 2025 Most Outstanding Canadian one year after earning WCBL Playoff MVP honours.

Joining Crowson on the top CBN All-Canadian roster was Dawgs teammate Nash Crowell, who tied Jimmy Dionne as a first base selection.

With the Reinhardt Eagles, Crowell hit .395 with 17 doubles, 17 long balls and 55 RBI in 53 games. He became the program’s career home run leader in 2025. The Yarmouth, Nova Scotia product has played summer ball with the Dawgs since 2023. In his 113 regular season and playoff games for Okotoks, Crowell posted a .305 batting average, 29 home runs and 113 RBI.

Dionne, meanwhile, is a former Okotoks Dawgs Academy pupil from Quebec who had a .404 batting average and 22 long balls in 52 games with the Howard Hawks.

The role of designated hitter was claimed by Saskatoon’s Cory Wouters, who had a monster year at McCook Community College in Nebraska. In 57 games, Wouters smacked 20 doubles, 20 round trippers and 96 RBI while batting .437. His RBI total set a single-season record for the school, as did his .859 slugging percentage. As a result, he was named to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division 1 All-America team. Wouters has also put in mound work at McCook Community College. He has pitched in 20 games over two seasons and gone 7-10 with 120 strikeouts in 82 innings.

Wouters has also been a two-way star with the Saskatoon Berries of the WCBL over the last two summers. In 15 pitching appearances out of the bullpen, he posted a 1-2 record with one save, a 5.19 earned run average and 24 Ks in 26 innings. At the plate, he’s been a .340 hitter with 70 runs, 69 RBI, 18 doubles and 14 homers in 81 games.

Alfonso Villalobos earned the No. 1 spot at shortstop for his play with the Southeastern University Fire. The Kirkland, Quebec native turned in a .373 batting average, 63 runs and 81 RBI through 62 games. He was named a First-Team All-Sun Conference selection for his play. Villalobos played 66 games for the Fort McMurray Giants in 2022 and 2023. In that time, he had a .262 batting average, 44 runs, 31 RBI and 15 doubles.

Another former Giant who was recognized by the CBN was outfielder Jordan Bach of Ladner, B.C. He pounded out 19 doubles and 11 homers while batting .309 in 56 games for the Southern Illinois Salukis in 2025. Bach and Villalobos were teammates in Fort McMurray, where Bach served as both a catcher and an outfielder. The lefty hitter registered a .333 batting average, 63 runs, 68 RBI and 26 doubles in 106 WCBL games over two seasons.

SECOND TEAM ALL-CANADIANS

Carter Beck earned a spot in the outfield on the CBN’s second squad. In 55 games with the Indiana State Sycamores, the Carnduff, Saskatchewan product batted .355 with 15 doubles, 11 long balls and 56 RBI. Beck was named a Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) First Team All-Conference selection, as well as a MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team pick. He has been a driving force with the Saskatoon Berries in the club’s first two seasons in the WCBL, posting a .400 batting average, 121 runs, 96 RBI and 24 homers in 106 regular season and playoff games.

Joining Beck in the outfield was Jonny McGill, who had a .408 batting average, 20 doubles, 18 round trippers and 56 RBI in 56 games with the University of British Columbia (UBC) Thunderbirds. McGill batted .300 and registered a .400 on-base percentage in his 37 games with the Edmonton Prospects in 2021.

Getting the nod at catcher was Logan Grant, who blasted 19 home runs and produced 62 RBI while batting .349 in 55 games with the Bellevue Bruins. The Calgarian has been a regular in the Okotoks Dawgs lineup over the last three years. Prior to that, Grant suited up for the Sylvan Lake Gulls and Swift Current 57’s.

Designated hitter Ayden Makarus played with Grant in Bellevue, where he launched 17 long balls and posted a 1.172 OPS in 43 games. The Okotoks product was named the North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) Newcomer of the Year, as well as a First Team All-NSAA selection. The former catcher with the Dawgs took the field as a member of the Sylvan Lake Gulls this summer.

Second sacker Yosuke Fujie led the Campbellsville Tigers in homers (15), runs (52), RBI (52), walks (30), total bases (120), slugging percentage (.663) and OPS (1.086). The Mission, B.C. product appeared in nine games for the Fort McMurray Giants in 2022.

Left-handed starting pitcher Haden Dow, of St. John, New Brunswick, went 5-4 with a 3.33 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 78.1 innings and 14 starts for the Southeast Missouri State Redbirds. Dow worked as a reliever for the Edmonton Prospects in 2019.

THIRD TEAM ALL-CANADIANS

Kyle Froehlich, who hails from Nipawin, Saskatchewan, was named the righty starting pitcher on the third team. He was phenomenal for the University of Texas at Tyler Patriots, going 10-0 with a 2.75 ERA and 58 strikeouts over his 15 starts and 75-plus innings. The honours that followed included a spot on the ABCA/Rawlings First Team All-South Central Region team, as well as a place on the Baseball All-American Third Team. Froehlich was a long-time member of the Sylvan Lake Gulls who appeared in 29 games for the central Alberta squad between 2021 and 2024. He racked up 121 strikeouts for the Gulls in 100-plus innings.

Ty Doucette was chosen for first base duties on this lineup after recording a .350 batting average, 13 home runs and 54 RBI in 57 games for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. The Dartmouth, Nova Scotia product was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 10th round of the MLB Draft. Doucette played 30 games for the Okotoks Dawgs Black team during the pandemic-shortened WCBL season in 2021.

Turner Zdunich was voted into the outfield for his hot bat at Colby Community College, where he batted .407 with nine homers and 25 RBI in 55 games. The Dawgs Academy student played 31 contests for the Saskatoon Berries this summer.

Another Dawgs Academy outfielder to make the cut was Max Hartman, who had a .363 batting average and 29 RBI in 42 games for the Washington State Cougars. Hartman was a member of the Okotoks Dawgs Black squad with Doucette in 2021.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

A number of WCBL pitchers and batters also received honourable mentions from the Canadian Baseball Network.

For their work on the bump, righty starting pitcher Tyrelle Chadwick – a member of the Okotoks Black squad in 2021 – and reliever Sawyer Jensen, who played briefly for the Lethbridge Bulls in 2023, received votes.

Catcher Colin Fisher, who played for the Fort McMurray Giants in 2023 and the Swift Current 57’s in 2024, was also acknowledged.

A pair of standouts at second base – long-time Weyburn Beaver Ryan Dauphinee and Medicine Hat Mavericks veteran Tyler Vanneste – picked up votes.

Meanwhile, a trio of shortstops who have spent time in the WCBL were also named as honourable mentions, including Nathan Houston, Antony Gilbert and Manny Alberto. Houston has suited up with the Moose Jaw Miller Express and the Saskatoon Berries, while Gilbert has been an offensive driver for the Brooks Bombers and Sylvan Lake Gulls. Alberto took the field for the Giants in 2024.

Outfielders who were recognized included Leo Griffin (Okotoks Dawgs); Payton McHarg (Saskatoon Berries); Justin Carinci (Regina Red Sox); Nick Groves (Sylvan Lake Gulls); and Kaden Zarowny (Okotoks Dawgs and Sylvan Lake Gulls).

Rounding out the honourable mentions were designated hitters Brendan Clelland, a member of the Brooks Bombers in 2024, and Kyle Yip, who represented the Lethbridge Bulls in 2023 and 2024.