Five Parksville Royals recently got to experience what elite baseball is like at the University of British Columbia.
Upcoming graduates Brodie Comerford and Jacob Volkers along with Grade 10s Ethan Dean, Anson McGorman, and Austin Walper attended the two-day UBC Baseball Program’s recruitment showcase.
The showcase is designed to introduce players to a high level of baseball and get the UBC coaching staff to evaluate them for potential recruitment to colleges and universities.
Approximately 60 players from across Canada and the United States attended the event that featured various running, throwing, hitting drills, and scrimmages. Detailed evaluations of each player were compiled, including radar gun speed measurements for the pitching prospects.
The Royals have been helping their players advance to universities in Canada and the United States. One former Royal, Adam McKillican, a six-foot-five pitcher from Courtenay, is currently attending UBC and was one of the players assisting with the showcase. He is eligible for the Major League Baseball draft in June 2019.
Parksville Royals senior team general manager Mike Parlow said UBC offers a unique opportunity for their graduating players.
“The UBC program recruits from across Canada and plays in an intensely competitive NAIA division against teams from Oregon, Idaho and California,” said Parlow. “Our players who make it to UBC get the chance to play at an elite level while earning their degree at one of the top universities in Canada.”
The showcase was organized and run by UBC head coach Chris Pritchett, assistant coach Sammie Starr and pitching coach Wayne Corness. Parlow said the coaches talked about the requirements of getting into the university, and the importance of good grades in high school. The players were also given a tour of the UBC baseball facilities (indoor pitching/hitting) and the UBC campus.
“Our program has had many of the Royals players attend UBC over the years,” said Terry McKaig, director of baseball at UBC.
“There were four Royals graduates on our roster in 2013 alone. They have been both great players as well as great students in getting their UBC degree.”
The Royals at the end of last season had five of their players recruited by colleges in the United States.
They are Josh Laukkanen, Bray Radcliffe, Thomas Green, Kiran Carcary and Jake Nikirk. Laukkanen and Radcliffe are attending Cloud County College in Kansas, Thomas Green is with Cuesta College in Southern Calif., Kiran Carcary is at Mile City College in Montana, and Jake Nikirk went to Dawson Community College in Montana.
