*This article was originally published on Alberta Dugout Stories on October 30. You can read it here.

October 31, 2024

By Ian Wilson

Alberta Dugout Stories

Start saving dates on your calendar.

The 2025 Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) regular-season schedule is here.

Opening Day takes place on Wednesday, May 28th at 7:05 p.m. at Athletic Park when the Medicine Hat Mavericks play host to the defending champion Okotoks Dawgs. The game is a rematch of the 2023 WCBL championship series, which went the distance and finished with the Dawgs hoisting the Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy as the top team in the league.

Opening Week continues with another four contests on Thursday, May 29th. The action that evening includes the Regina Red Sox home and season opener at Currie Field, where the Swift Current 57’s will pay a visit.

Coming off their record 44-win 2024 season, the Sylvan Lake Gulls will open the doors to the Edmonton baseball team for a 7:05 p.m. start at Gulls Field, while the Weyburn Beavers will welcome the Saskatoon Berries to Tom Laing Park.

Rounding out the Thursday night of baseball fun is the season opener for the Moose Jaw Miller Express, who visit Medicine Hat for an East Division matchup against the Mavs.

Several WCBL home openers will take place in the final weekend of May.

On Friday, May 30th, the Brooks Bombers kick off their season at Elks Field when the Lethbridge Bulls pay a visit. The Gulls will fly north to Fort McMurray for a Friday night tilt against the Giants at Legacy Dodge Field at Shell Place. The first game of the 2025 season at Ross Wells Park in Moose Jaw will feature the Miller Express and the Berries doing battle, while the Mavs travel to Mitchell Field in Swift Current for the 57’s home opener.

All 12 WCBL teams will take the field on Saturday, May 31st.

Fans of the Okotoks Dawgs will get to see a new championship banner added to their collection at Seaman Stadium when the team faces Edmonton at 7:05 p.m.

The Berries home opener is set for 4 pm at the NexGen Patch at Cairns Field in Saskatoon when the purple-clad home squad squares off against the visiting Regina Red Sox.

The Lethbridge Bulls start their season with a five-game road trip before hosting Edmonton at Spitz Stadium on Thursday, June 5th.

Baseball boosters in Alberta will want to keep the first weekend in June open. Edmonton has tentatively scheduled their stadium opener at Myshak Metro Ballpark in Spruce Grove for Saturday, June 7th at 7:05 p.m. when the Dawgs are set to help the team open the new facility in style. The two clubs will play a second game there at 2:05 p.m. on Sunday, June 8th.

“We’re very excited to announce the 2025 schedule. It promises special days and nights at the ballpark, as well as the thrill of competition between intense rivals as teams chase down playoff spots,” said WCBL President Kevin Kvame.

“We look forward to building upon the record-setting attendance we experienced in 2024 and cannot wait to see the best fans in baseball return to our ballparks.”

HOME OPENERS

• Medicine Hat Mavericks, Athletic Park, May 28th vs. Okotoks Dawgs

• Regina Red Sox, Currie Field, May 29th vs. Swift Current 57’s

• Sylvan Lake Gulls, Gulls Field, May 29th vs. Edmonton

• Weyburn Beavers, Tom Laing Park, May 29th vs. Saskatoon Berries

• Brooks Bombers, Elks Field, May 30th vs. Lethbridge Bulls

• Fort McMurray Giants, Legacy Dodge Field, May 30th vs. Sylvan Lake Gulls

• Moose Jaw Miller Express, Ross Wells Park, May 30th vs. Saskatoon Berries

• Swift Current 57’s, Mitchell Field, May 30th vs. Medicine Hat Mavericks

• Okotoks Dawgs, Seaman Stadium, May 31st vs. Edmonton

• Saskatoon Berries, NexGen Patch at Cairns Field, May 31st vs. Regina Red Sox

• Lethbridge Bulls, Spitz Stadium, June 5th vs. Edmonton

• Edmonton, Myshak Metro Ballpark, June 7th vs. Okotoks Dawgs

WCBL RURAL ROOTS GAME

New this season is the WCBL Rural Roots Game, a celebration of the communities that helped grow baseball and the Western Canadian Baseball League in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

The inaugural game takes place on Sunday, June 8th at 3:30 p.m. at Doug Lehman Field in Oyen, Alta.

The Sylvan Lake Gulls and Lethbridge Bulls will put on a show as the league honours the 30th anniversary of the Saskatchewan Major Baseball League (SMBL) champion Oyen Pronghorns. The SMBL evolved into the Western Major Baseball League (WMBL) in 2001 after more Alberta teams became a regular part of the circuit and it was rebranded as the WCBL in 2019. Former WMBL president Doug Jones is the mayor of Oyen.

Further announcements about this special event will be announced at a later date.

SPECIAL DATES

Father’s Day takes place on Sunday, June 15th and every team in the league plays that day. The Beavers are in Saskatoon, the Mavs visit Currie Field in Regina, the Bombers host the Gulls, and the Giants welcome the Bulls. The other games see the Miller Express take on the 57’s at Ross Wells Park and the Dawgs open the gates at Seaman Stadium for a visit from Edmonton.

The most popular day on the WCBL calendar is Canada Day. This July 1st the Fort McMurray Giants and Lethbridge Bulls are both hosting doubleheaders. The Giants face Edmonton twice, while the Bulls take on the Beavers in the afternoon and the evening. Elsewhere, the Berries travel to Regina for a matinee against the Red Sox, and the 57’s head to Moose Jaw for a 6:05 p.m. game versus the Miller Express. Other night games on Canada Day include a Seaman Stadium contest involving the Dawgs and Bombers, as well as a matchup between the Mavericks and Sylvan Lake at Gulls Field.

The 2025 WCBL All-Star Game and Home Run Derby is set for Saturday, July 19th at Seaman Stadium in Okotoks. This fan-favourite event is highlighted by the top pitchers and hitters in the league squaring off in a battle of the best players from the East Division against the cream of the crop from the West Division. More details on the festivities scheduled for this special day will be released at a later date.

RIVALRY GAMES

The Okotoks Dawgs and Moose Jaw Miller Express – who met in the 2022 and 2024 WCBL championship finals – will renew hostilities during two games at Ross Wells Park on June 11th & 12th.

Sylvan Lake, the biggest rival of the Dawgs from the West Division, will face Okotoks for the first time since the Dawgs eliminated the Gulls from the 2024 playoffs for two games at Gulls Field on June 4th & 5th before traveling down the road to Seaman Stadium for another clash on June 6th. The two teams also play on June 10th in Okotoks, July 9th in Sylvan Lake and July 23rd at Seaman Stadium before closing out the regular season with a home-and-home series on Aug. 3rd & 4th.

The Miller Express and the Red Sox will engage in the Trans Canada Clash yet again in 2025, with the winner of the series between the two Saskatchewan clubs claiming a trophy and bragging rights for coming out on top. The first chapter of the series takes place on June 18th at Ross Wells Park, followed by a July 3rd rematch in Regina. Other games between the teams take place on July 9th in Moose Jaw, July 13th at Currie Field and July 20th back at Ross Wells Park. A home-and-home series takes place on July 29th and 30th and the series wraps on the final day of the regular season on Aug. 4th in Regina.

There are 336 total games scheduled for the 2025 regular season from May through August, with each WCBL club set to play 56 games this coming summer.

WCBL PLAYOFFS

The Western Canadian Baseball League postseason gets underway on Wednesday, Aug. 6th.

The 12-team WCBL consists of an East Division and a West Division, each of which has six teams. The top four teams from each division will qualify for the playoffs.

Conference semi-final series will open the postseason, followed by conference finals. Those matchups are both best-of-three series.

The WCBL Championship Finals will pit the best team in the West Division against the top squad in the East Division for the right to lift the Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy. This is also a best-of-three series.

Stay tuned for the release of the WCBL schedule online, as well as promotional schedules that are being unveiled by each team.