Summer collegiate baseball leagues are an integral part of the college baseball system with schools from all over North America sending their players to wood bat summer leagues to hone their skills during the offseason, sending some of the most talented amateur baseball players on the continent every summer. Now the WMBL can begin to stake its claim as one of the leagues college coaches should send their talented players to.
The Western Major Baseball League has finally reached the status of a complete Summer Collegiate Baseball League. The WMBL has always been home to collegiate talent, but the change to a full collegiate model means some changes and new opportunities for the league that is continuing to grow. Beginning in the summer of 2013 eligible players must be enrolled in universities and colleges throughout North America and the world that is providing a collegiate type atmosphere for players. Players must have completed their first year of university and that eligibility ranges right through and includes the summer after their senior year graduation. This means that players from the junior system or homegrown talents that are not enrolled in college are no longer allowed to play in the WMBL.
The theory and thought process behind this is to provide players with an excellent environment in order to develop their playing skills on an equal plane whether they are Canadian or Foreign. The leap will also but the WMBL in exclusive company as there are only approximately 25 Summer Collegiate leagues in North America, putting the WMBL in exclusive company as a destination for college ballplayers.
With the Yorkton WMBL Cardinals are at the beginning of their 13th year of operation they already have experience in what has always been primarily a Summer Collegiate Baseball league, giving them experience in drawing ballplayers from across North America that will help them make the transition to full collegiate status. It is not without tremendous help from the community, businesses, fans and volunteers that this feat has been achieved. The level of baseball presented by the Cardinals over the past 12 years has been nothing short of outstanding, considering the very short season and distance from major U.S. Collegiate schools. The number of local players participating with the team over the past years has also been impressive. Beginning with the first year of operation, and right till today, the Yorkton area has seen no fewer than 20 players achieve collegiate baseball scholarships to further their baseball skills and education with most attaining university degrees through the sport. Some have also and still are playing professional baseball. Most of these players have played with the Cardinals who will hope to carry over this tradition even with the rule changes.
The 2013 edition of the Cardinals, as luck would have it, sees more highly skilled Canadians on the roster, almost paralleling the early years of operation. With over 850 Canadian Collegiate baseball players that have secured athletic baseball scholarships in American and Canadian Universities, the time is very right to give many of these kids an opportunity to stay and play their summer baseball in Canada. The Yorkton roster for 2013 sees players from BC, AB, SK, ON and Quebec along with Americans from Indiana, New York, Florida, Alabama and Georgia.
For those that appreciate and recognize quality collegiate baseball, the Cardinals welcome you to a brand new season beginning on June 1 when they host the 2012 WMBL Champion Regina Red Sox at Jubilee Park.
