The British Columbia Premier Baseball League, commonly referred to as the BCPBL or the PBL, is a competitive youth
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
league consisting of 13 teams located throughout
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. Over the years, the BCPBL has served as a talent pipeline for
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
as numerous BCPBL players have been selected in the Major League Baseball
entry draft and gone on to have successful careers in professional baseball.
League History
Known as the Island Premier Baseball League when it was founded in 1995, the league originally included only five teams, all from
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...
: Victoria Investors, Victoria Selects, Mid-Island Canadians, Nanaimo Pirates and the Parksville Royals. Although these five teams had been playing exhibition games against teams from the
Lower Mainland
The Lower Mainland is a geographic and cultural region of the mainland coast of British Columbia that generally comprises the regional districts of Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley. Home to approximately 3.05million people as of the 2021 Canadia ...
, only in 1999 did the league officially expand to include six new teams: North Shore Twins, Vancouver Mounties, Coquitlam Reds, North Delta Blue Jays, White Rock Tritons, and Abbotsford Cardinals.
In 2000, the league expanded once again by adding two more teams: the Whalley Chiefs and Penticton. Later that year, the league changed its name to the British Columbia Premier Baseball league to reflect its new membership.
In 2009, the PBL would again expand, by bringing a team back to Vancouver known as the Vancouver Cannons. In 2010, the PBL board has granted a second PBL franchise to Victoria, known as the Victoria Eagles. Also the team formerly known as the Kelowna Cubs became known as the Okanagan Athletics in the 2010 season.
Teams
Notable alumni
Several well known ballplayers have played Major League Baseball:
*†
James Paxton (North Delta Blue Jays)
*†
Nick Pivetta
Nicholas Johncarlo Pivetta (born February 14, 1993) is a Canadian professional baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Washington Nationals selected Pivetta in the fourth round of the 2013 MLB draft. He was tra ...
(Victoria Eagles)
*†
Rowan Wick (Vancouver Cannons and Whalley Chiefs)
*†
Tyler O'Neill (Langley Blaze)
*
Larry Walker
Larry Kenneth Robert Walker (born December 1, 1966) is a Canadian former professional baseball right fielder. During his 17-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he played with the Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies, and St. Louis Cardinals. I ...
(Coquitlam Reds), MLB Hall of Famer
*
Ryan Dempster
Ryan Scott Dempster (born May 3, 1977), is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, and Boston Red Sox. Dempster batted and t ...
(North Shore Twins)
*
Jeff Francis
Jeffrey William Francis (born January 8, 1981) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds, Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, and ...
(North Delta Blue Jays)
*
Taylor Green
Taylor William Andrew Green (born November 2, 1986) is a Canadian former professional baseball infielder who played for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). After retiring, Green became a scout for the Brewers.
Amateur career
...
(Parksville Royals)
*
Rich Harden
James Richard Harden (born November 30, 1981) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched for the Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, and Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball.
Early years
Harden attended Claremont Secondary S ...
(Victoria Mariners)
*
Brett Lawrie
Brett Russell Lawrie (born January 18, 1990) is a Canadian former professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics, and Chicago White Sox.
Amateur career
While playing hi ...
(Langley Blaze)
*
Adam Loewen
Adam Alexander Loewen (born April 9, 1984) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher and outfielder. He pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles from 2006 to 2008, before converting to a position player and playin ...
(Whalley Chiefs)
*
Scott Mathieson
Scott William Mathieson (born February 27, 1984) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Yomiuri Giants.
Career ...
(Langley Blaze)
*
Justin Morneau
Justin Ernest George Morneau (born May 15, 1981) is a Canadian former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Colorado Rockies, and Chicago White Sox. At and ...
(North Delta Blue Jays)
*
Aaron Myette
Aaron Kenneth Myette (born September 26, 1977) is a Canadian former professional baseball right-handed pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
Career
Myette attended the University of Washingto ...
(Whalley Chiefs)
*
Kevin Nicholson (Whalley Chiefs)
*
Michael Saunders
Michael Edward Brett Saunders (born November 19, 1986) is a Canadian former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays, and Philadelphia Phillies.
He was nickname ...
(Victoria Mariners)
*
Rene Tosoni
Rene Michael Tosoni (born July 2, 1986) is a Canadian former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins in 2011 and has also played in International competitions with the Canada national bas ...
(Coquitlam Reds)
† active player
Many well known ex-BCPBL players have gone on to have successful
minor league baseball careers:
[BCPBL]
League players in the MLB Draft
Retrieved 23 December 2009
*
Cole Armstrong (Whalley Chiefs)
*
Shawn Bowman
Shawn Douglas Bain Bowman (born December 9, 1984) is a Canadian former professional baseball third-baseman and current coach.
Early life
Bowman attended Dr. Charles Best Secondary School in Coquitlam, British Columbia and was the starting thi ...
(Coquitlam Reds)
*
Leon Boyd (White Rock Tritons)
*
Kellin Deglan
Kellin Lee Deglan (born May 3, 1992) is a Canadian professional baseball catcher who is currently a free agent. He was drafted out of R.E. Mountain Secondary School in the 2010 Major League Baseball draft by the Texas Rangers.
Career Texas Ran ...
(Langley Blaze)
*
Bryan Dumesnil (Nanaimo Pirates)
*
Jordan Lennerton
Jordan M. Lennerton (born February 16, 1986) is a Canadian former professional baseball first baseman. He had been in the Detroit Tigers' organization from the time he was drafted in 2008 until 2015.
Amateur career
Lennerton grew up in Langley, ...
*
Kyle Lotzkar
Kyle S. Lotzkar (born October 24, 1989) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher. Lotzkar has also competed for the Canadian national baseball team.
Career Amateur career
Lotzkar attended South Delta Secondary School in Delta, British C ...
*
Jared Mortensen
Jared Paul Mortensen (born June 1, 1988) is a Canadian professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent.
Career
Mortensen played college baseball at Mount Olive College and the Louisiana State University in Shreveport. After going undrafted in th ...
*
Vince Perkins (Parksville Royals)
*
Jimmy Van Ostrand
* Terrance Dayleg (Whalley Chiefs)
Past champions
References
{{Reflist
External links
B.C. Premier League
Baseball in British Columbia
Summer baseball leagues
Baseball leagues in Canada
Base
Sports leagues established in 1995
1995 establishments in British Columbia