Three Okotoks Dawgs Academy players commit to NCAA Division 1 baseball programs

The Okotoks Dawgs Academy is celebrating three NCAA Division 1 baseball commitments from players who will anchor the club's title chase next summer.

Ethan Renaud, a Grade 11 student and member of the academy since age 12, has committed to Wake Forest. A hard-throwing right-handed pitcher and outfielder, Renaud helped the Dawgs 18U Black team capture the national championship at the inaugural Road to Okotoks for the Morneau Cup in July. He represented the Dawgs at the Canadian Futures Showcase and won gold in javelin at School Sport Alberta Track and Field Provincials in the spring. Renaud is a multi-sport athlete who previously played quarterback for the Foothills Bantam Eagles.

Dallas Tanaka, a Grade 12 student, committed to Pepperdine. The fleet-footed outfielder joined the Dawgs 18U Black squad this season and drew attention from multiple college programs before choosing the Malibu, California school. Tanaka is following in the footsteps of his father Kevin, who coaches at the academy and played collegiate baseball with Hawaii Pacific.

Brooks Froese, a Red Deer native who joined the Dawgs from the Sylvan Lake Gulls Prep team for the 2026-27 campaign, committed to Kansas State. The talented infielder won MVP honours for Team Canada at the Prep Baseball Future Games shortly after the Road to Okotoks.

All three are expected to be major contributors to the Dawgs 18U Black as the team pursues a national repeat at the 2027 Road to Okotoks next July. The commitments follow a longstanding tradition of Dawgs Academy placement at top universities. Recent graduates including Taye Thierman, AJ Rogers, Kayden Armitage, Will Labonte, Louis-Charles Larouche, Eric Machej, and Tim Piasentin are playing NCAA Division 1 baseball throughout the U.S.

The academy's alumni have reached even higher: Matt 'Tugboat' Wilkinson made Major League Baseball with the San Francisco Giants, Tristan Peters posted an All-Star rookie season with the Chicago White Sox, and Eric Hartman earned MiLB Breakout Player of the Year recognition and top-prospect billing in the Atlanta Braves system.