Mark and Darren MacMillan spoke on the South Alberta School of Baseball which starts in the fall of 2025. Bob Schneider/CHAT News

By Jesse Gill

SPORTS

South Alberta School of Baseball coming to Eagle Butte High School

Dec 16, 2024 | 7:00 PM

There will be a new baseball academy in the Prairie Rose Public School division beginning in the fall of 2025.

Eagle Butte High School will launch the South Alberta Baseball Academy next year.

The school division already also has a baseball program established in Oyen, Alta., with the Badlands Badgers Baseball Academy.

Darren MacMillan, director of enhanced programming for Prairie Rose Public Schools, said they are looking to draw kids from outside the community to come play baseball here, but will also look to develop local players.

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“The idea is that hopefully a lot of the kids from Maverick School of Baseball eventually will funnel up to the South Alberta Baseball Academy program,” Darren said.

“No different than a lot of our South Alberta Hockey Academy high-performance kids will eventually play on our teams. Same idea.”

The Mavericks School of Baseball was established by Prairie Rose Public School through a partnership with the Medicine Hat Mavericks for Grade 4-9 students and began in early 2024.

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READ: School of Baseball partnership between Prairie Rose School Division and Medicine Hat Mavericks Announced

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The South Alberta Baseball Academy team will play in exhibition games and tournaments, but the hope is to see a baseball league form similar to the Canadian Sport School Hockey League that SAHA competes in.

The indoor baseball facility at South Alberta Collegiate, will be utilized as well as Athletic Park.

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READ: New collegiate to enhance Prairie Rose School Division’s specialized programs

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Leading the program will be Mark MacMillan who was named the head coach and coordinator of player development.

He is a former collegiate player in the United States who has been coaching for over 40 years, from junior high all the way up to the college level, and is also a former scout of the Seattle Mariners.

Mark said his path to Medicine Hat started when his cousin Darren reached out to him for advice on developing the baseball program.

“The more we talked, I was like, this just kind of resonates, and I’m really at a point where I wanted to get back to my roots a little bit,” Mark said.

“But also there’s a family side to it. My dad being from South Alberta and this is the area that ignited his passion for hockey, and to think that, oh my goodness, I get an opportunity maybe to come up here and here’s my passion, baseball.”

The process of recruiting players for the South Alberta School of Baseball will begin with I.D. camps in early 2025.