Baseball Alberta announced the 20-man roster that will represent the province at the Canada Cup next month.
From Aug. 9-13, the best U17 players among 10 provincial teams will compete in Regina, Sask. at the Baseball Canada Cup.
The roster features three Red Deerians including Jake Brooks, Matt Murray, and Nathan Flewelling. On the coaching staff, Desmond Bouteiller who coaches the Red Deer U15 AAA Archon Braves will serve as an assistant coach on the team.
Bouteiller explained the tournament that happens every summer is Baseball Canada’s showcase for these young men who will soon become draft eligible and are looking to play for university teams.
“There will be quite a few different scouts that will be at this tournament,” he said.
“Alberta is allowed two overage players so Matthew Murray will be one of those players that takes a spot on our roster.
“It’s going to be an amazing tournament. I definitely think we’ll hold our own if not be one of the teams to beat there.”
Alberta will play their first game against Manitoba on Wednesday, Aug. 9 at 2 p.m. followed by a matchup with New Brunswick on Thursday at 11 a.m.
On Friday, Aug. 11 Alberta will face Newfoundland and Labrador first thing in the morning at 8 a.m. and will take on PEI later that day at 2 p.m.
Alberta will wrap up the round-robin play against Quebec on Saturday at 8 a.m. before the elimination games begin later that night. The bronze and gold medal matches will take place at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 13.
Alberta’s assistant coach said their schedule looks promising and is looking forward to some major tests throughout round-robin play.
The team first got put together after a couple of camps held a few months ago in Edmonton and Calgary. The purpose of that was to first identify the talent of players in Alberta.
From there they took 40 players and split them into two teams to play the Edmonton Riverhawks at the end of June.
“It gave us a really good opportunity to see what these players can do in action on the big stage,” he added.
“From those two games, we definitely had to make some tough decisions to whittle it down to 20 players.”
Bouteiller explained he first got involved with Team Alberta after coaching the 14U girls last year and wanted to continue working with the provincial teams. This will be his first time coaching this tournament and will also be on the staff for Team Alberta at the 16U Girl’s National Championships in August.
“It’s exciting to be a part of these teams to showcase the talent we have in our province. I think we’re getting to be well-known as a baseball powerhouse province and it’s amazing to be a part of it,” he said.
On the 16U girl’s team, central Alberta’s Tessa Klassen, Ava Grenier, and Summer Grenier will join the roster of 13 alongside Bouteiller.
Last year, Klassen pitched for the 14U girls that won gold at the Western Canadian Baseball Championships. She was also named to the 14U girl’s team that will defend their crown in August.
