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 t ...

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, for ...

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 to ...

. 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 (A ...

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 province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...

: 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 Cana ...

, 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 Rowan D. Wick (born November 9, 1992) is a Canadian professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the San Diego Padres. Career Amateur Wick attended Carson Graham Secondary School ...

(Vancouver Cannons and Whalley Chiefs) *†

Tyler O'Neill Tyler Alan O'Neill (born June 22, 1995) is a Canadian professional baseball left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut on April 19, 2018. He has represented Canada in international play, win ...

(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 Secondar ...

(Victoria Mariners) * Brett Lawrie (Langley Blaze) * Adam Loewen (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 P ...

(Langley Blaze) * Justin Morneau (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 Washi ...

(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 Ra ...

(Langley Blaze) * Bryan Dumesnil (Nanaimo Pirates) * Jordan Lennerton *

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 ...

* Jared Mortensen * 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