BARRHEAD - A Barrhead teen will head to Regina to help Team Alberta compete for the Canada Cup championship from Aug. 7-13.
The Canada Cup is a premium-level baseball tournament for U 17 players featuring 10 provincial all-star provincial teams.
Baseball Alberta announced on July 11 that Brayden Kramm, a catcher who at 15 years old is the squad's youngest member, was selected to be part of Team Alberta's 20-player roster.
The Barrhead Leader spoke to Kramm and his mother, Angela, before practising with his St. Albert U18 Cardinals as part of Baseball Alberta's Elite League (BAEL), where he plays catcher.
"I've always loved baseball," he said. "I think I learned how to walk on a baseball field."
Although baseball was always Kramm's first love, he did try his hand at other sports, including basketball and hockey, but they did not hold his attention, saying he retired from those sports to devote his time entirely to baseball.
His mother said his passion for the sport is unsurprising because the baseball roots run deep in their family, noting that his father, Jason, played and has been a long-time coach with the Barrhead Minor Baseball Association and his uncles Warren and Ryan Warehime were also talented baseball players, that played men's senior ball.
Kramm began his baseball career playing in Barrhead until the pee wee level (four years ago) before moving on to St. Albert.
"There were just more opportunities for me to move to the next level in St. Albert," he said, including the ability to play baseball year-round.
In the fall and winter months, players prepare for the upcoming season by practising four days a week indoors before moving outdoors in April and May with six-day-a-week practices and weekly games.
For most of his baseball career, Kramm has been behind the plate.
"I tried playing other positions," he said. "I played third base for a while and did some pitching, but I always went back to catching. I really love the position because you are always involved in the game."
In March, Kramm was one of a select group of U17 players that Baseball Alberta invited to try out camp.
One of the reasons he was invited to the selection camp, in addition to his strong play with the St. Albert Cardinals, was his performance with the Zone 5 team that captured the 2022 U15 Alberta Zone Championship.
From there, the top 36 players moved on to another selection camp, culminating in a series of games against the Edmonton Riverhawks - a collegiate summer baseball team that plays in the West Coast League.
A few days later, he learned from the coaching staff that he had made the squad.
Kramm hopes to use his selection to Team Alberta and the Canada Cup as a stepping stone to further his baseball career. Upwards of 50 scouts, including many from U.S. colleges, are expected to attend the tournament.
"Brayden's dream is to get a scholarship and play with a (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Division 1 school," his mother said about his future baseball plans.
Alberta will play their first game against Manitoba on Wednesday, Aug. 9, at 2 p.m., followed by a matchup with New Brunswick on Thursday, Aug. 10, at 11 a.m.
On Friday, Aug. 11, Alberta will face Newfoundland and Labrador at 8 a.m. and take on PEI at 2 p.m.
Alberta will wrap up the round-robin play against Quebec on Saturday at 8 a.m. before the elimination games begin later that night. The bronze and gold medal matches will occur at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 13.
