‘Strive for more’: Regina Red Sox ready for WCBL title defense

Regina Red Sox third baseman Brady Bye fields a groundball during team training camp

The Regina Red Sox are on the defense, hoping to repeat as Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) champions in 2026.

“We have the guys to do it,” coach Rye Pothakos told CTV News. “We’ve got to play the games and go play clean baseball, but we have a chance to do so.”

Last year’s championship was Regina’s first since 2012.

It came after a rocky start to the regular season in which the Sox finished just two games above .500 with a 29-27 record – squeaking into the playoffs as the 3 seed.

After sweeping Medicine Hat in the first round, the Red Sox took down the record-breaking Saskatoon Berries in the division championship before storming back in the WCBL final against Sylvan Lake to lift the Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy.

Team training camp opened earlier this week with nine returning players from the 2025 championship roster.

Including local product Brady Bye, who is fresh of a WCBL playoff MVP award for his stellar postseason run where he had a .333 batting average, two doubles, 10 RBIs and a .731 OPS in eight games.

“You set the goals a little higher than last year and [hope for] the same result,” Bye said. “You just hope for the same things with a different group of guys and come back excited, ready to meet new guys, ready to play the game we all enjoy.”

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Bye is entering his fifth and final season of eligibility in college summer ball after graduating from Point University.

The former catcher now turned third baseman has aspirations to put his name on the map and earn a chance to play professional baseball.

“I’m trying to hit as many home runs as I possibly can,” Bye said with a chuckle. “Last year, I hit nine and I was kind of tough not getting into the double digits being a one away.”

“You don’t want to come back and be the same as last year. You always want to strive for more. I’m just going to set the sights a little bit higher than last year and hopefully I can follow through on anything,” he added.

Pothakos believes a championship foundation will be key to early success this season, but he was quick to highlight the complementary additions to the roster.

“It calms everybody down,” Pothakos said. “The new guys know to look at the guys who have been here two or three years – it helps a lot.”

As is often the case in college baseball, there is quite a lot of turnover inside the Red Sox clubhouse.

Regina’s Rhett Hodgins said the team has already come together, despite being a group for just a few days.

“With the group we have returning this year, a lot of great personalities and different ones,” the catcher said. “And they all gelled perfectly right back in, and we expect nothing less this year. Especially with some new guys coming in, we’re good with our core already.”

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This year’s Red Sox have players from four different countries, including Australia and France.

With more than a dozen universities and colleges represented on the team, the local players say they take it upon themselves to make sure everyone feels right at home.

“[We] show quite a few guys around, showing them the good spots in town and like what poutine is,” Hodgins said. “They all seemed to like it so far, there’s a couple guys from Nevada who have never had it and I showed one of the Australian guys what poutine is, so that was kind of neat.”

“We always have a really special group of guys that I look forward to meeting and seeing every single year,” Bye added. “It’s been good to get to know some new guys, see some guys from last year and just be in that locker room again, it’s hard to beat.”

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While Regina had not won a WCBL title in 13 years, history is on their side to repeat as champions in 2026.

The Okotoks Dawgs were dethroned in 2025 after winning three-straight finals.

Even for the Red Sox, their previous two championships were won back-to-back in 2011 and 2012.

The team is ready to hold the title as defending champs, and the additional expectations that come with it.

“We don’t want anything less,” Hodgins said. “It’s nice being able to pull that off last year and hopefully get to repeat it this year. That’s the goal.”

Regina opens their 2026 season on the road against the Medicine Hat Mavericks Thursday night before meeting their Highway 1 rival Miller Express in Moose Jaw Friday.

The Red Sox will hold their championship celebration at their home opener Saturday when they host the Mavs. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. at Currie Field.