NCABL Projected to House Junior AAA Dream Team

The St. Albert Minor Baseball Association (SAMBA) has long been producing players of high calibre through its tiered developmental system. Recent successes at the Midget AAA level have left SAMBA with an enviable problem of where to place these players after graduation such as to provide the organization with the best possible scenario for retaining them both in the game of baseball as well as on clubs which will properly develop them. Without an existing high profile junior league in which to play and with an overly crowded St. Albert Tiger roster, SAMBA is taking a giant leap forward in conjunction with the NCABL by establishing its own collegiate farm system. Graduating Midget players with existing ties to American schools or who simply wish to further their development in a highly immersed summer program with skilled coaching can apply to play on this club which will debut in the NCABL in the spring of 2021. The club, sponsored by SAMBA, will not be the first junior or collegiate club the NCABL has accommodated in its 53 year history. One of Alberta’s strongest collegiate clubs ever assembled and managed by Ray Brown found the NCABL to be the perfect league in which to hone player skills, providing them with a varied schedule, reduced travel and a well organized framework. Most of the players from the Morinville Pioneers went on to play for the St. Albert Tigers where they continued to dominate at the local level and excel at the national level. SAMBA is taking a courageous step which has been long awaited as the only one which can restore a successful future for senior baseball in St. Albert. The NCABL is looking forward to the partnership and will offer its invaluable experience to ensure the success of this recently announced program. According to SAMBA President Kurtus Millar, this junior aged club will also be entered into a few elite tournaments in Western Canada so as to challenge them even further. The NCABL is projecting a return to a normal season in 2021 with a minimum of eight franchises competing.

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