Adam Turgeon had a couple of goals as he was coming up through the Red Deer Minor Baseball Association.
His “dream” was to earn a scholarship and play college baseball in the States. He also wanted to play for the Red Deer Riggers.
So far, things have worked out perfectly for the 20-year-old right-hander.
Turgeon, a native of Red Deer and a graduate of the St. Joseph’s Baseball Academy, received a scholarship offer to Jamestown University prior to the 2022-23 season.
“I tore my ACL playing volleyball during my final year at St. Joe’s so I took a gap year to rehab,” explained Turgeon. “My dream was to play in the States and it was during that season when I attended a camp Jamestown put on and they made me an offer, so I signed the paper and off I went.”
He played with the junior varsity team his first two seasons, although this past year he spent as much time working towards his degree.
“The first year, we had a number of scrimmages with the senior varsity team, which was great. As well, they have practices from 9 p.m. to midnight, which builds a lot of character,” he said. “You attend classes, do your homework and then practice.
“Unfortunately the second year I didn’t play senior, but did spend more time working on academics. I want to be a physiotherapist so that was good. Also, in the next couple of years, I hope to be one of the dudes.”
Jamestown plays in the NAIA, but will transfer to the NCAA Division II beginning in the 2025-26 season.
Turgeon will receive a degree at Jamestown before completing his physio degree.
“I’m not sure where yet although I’m thinking about the UK,” he said. “You’re only young once, so why not.”
Turgeon originally was into hockey, but that led him to baseball.
“One of my hockey teams, when I was about seven, had such a good time together we decided to play baseball together,” he explained. “That was my first experience with team baseball and I fell in love with it.”
The five-foot-10 Turgeon played hockey until bantam before switching his full attention to baseball.
He played through the RDMBA system with his final years with the U18AAA Carstar Braves.
He also got his first taste of senior ball with the Riggers during his gap year.
“My coaches at St. Joe’s all played with the Riggers and that was a goal of mine,” he said. “It was cool when I first came up to play with the older, more experienced guys, and see how much they loved the game.”
Turgeon doesn’t consider himself a fireball pitcher.
“My whole life, I’ve been a curveball guy,” he said. “I throw a breaker from 12 to 6 that seems to move more than people expect.
“I don’t throw the hardest, but even if I tell you what’s coming there’s not a lot you can do about it. That’s the reason why I’ve gone as far as I have … being able to command the off-speed stuff.”
He’s also started working on a cut fastball last season at Jamestown.
“It’s pretty good, about the same speed as my fastball but runs left. It’s not much fun for the hitters.”
That was evident when he threw two innings of shutout ball for the Riggers against the Edmonton Cubs earlier this season.
Turgeon is spending the summer with the Riggers after playing last summer with the Swift Current 57s in the Western Canadian Baseball League.
“I decided late last year to play summer ball and got my name in late for Alberta so I sent video and emails to the Eastern teams and Swift Current offered me a spot,” he explained. “It was a cool experience, and it was good that I had family in the area.”
He didn’t try to join the Sylvan Lake Gulls this season as “I wanted to take a bit more time off and work. Besides this league (Sunburst) is nothing to scoff at.”
Turgeon looks back and gives credit for where he’s at to the coaching staff at St. Joe’s.
“Jason (Chatwood) and Scott (Murray) made me the player and the person I am today,” said Turgeon, who was in the initial group to attend the Academy and the first group to graduate.
“They want to create a culture there … a culture to work hard and obviously it’s working. Not sure off the top of my head but they’re in their fifth season and have over 50 kids committed to college. It’s a cool community and culture they’ve built and cool to be part of it.”
Part of that is to have knowledgeable people with ties to programs across the border.
“I wouldn’t have known what to do (to receive a scholarship). There’s no handbook for what to do. They put together resumes and videos to send off. Their goal is for kids to move on and they do a good job of that.”
Turgeon comes from an athletic family as his dad played amateur hockey and baseball while his grandfather (Laurie Turgeon) was “good at both hockey and baseball”.
His younger sister, Isla, also played baseball with Team Alberta before switching to fastball and eventually volleyball. She is currently working on a degree at the University of Victoria.
While Turgeon has two years remaining at Jamestown, that won’t be the end of his baseball career.
“My goal is to keep playing until someone tells me I can’t play anymore.”
Danny Rode is a retired Advocate reporter and member of the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame who can be reached at danrode@shaw.ca