Langley Jr. Blaze

THE BCPBL

History of the BCPBL

In 1995 on Vancouver Island, premier baseball got started when five (5) teams formed the Island Premier Baseball League. From this point on, elite baseball has continued to grow in the province of British Columbia. Now under the umbrella of the Premier Baseball Association, growth has been sustained and the association now supports three divisions and 28 teams. The divisions include Junior Premier (BCJPBL), Premier (BCPBL) and college (CCBC); eleven (11) teams make up the junior premier league, twelve (12) teams are in the premier league, and five (5) teams play in the college league.
BCJPBL teams :
Nanaimo Pirates, Okanagan Athletics, Victoria Mariners, North Shore Twins, Coquitlam Redlegs, North Delta Blue Jays, Whalley Chiefs, White Rock Tritons, Langley Blaze, Victoria Eagles and Abbotsford Cardinals

​BCPBL teams :
Parksville Royals, Nanaimo Pirates, Victoria Mariners, North Shore Twins, Coquitlam Reds, North Delta Blue Jays, Whalley Chiefs, White Rock Tritons, Langley Blaze, Abbotsford Cardinals, Victoria Eagles and Okanagan Athletics.
CCBC teams :
Vancouver Island Baseball Institute Mariners (Nanaimo), Thompson River University WolfPack (Kamloops), Prairie Baseball Academy Dawgs (Lethbridge, Alberta), University of Calgary Dinos, Okanagan College Coyotes (Kelowna)
 
The growth of premier baseball in the province has continued to grow for more than a decade and has been documented below.
  • 1995 : Victoria Investors, Victoria Selects, Mid-Island Canadians, Nanaimo Pirates and the Parksville Royals form the five team Island Premier Baseball League.
  • 1998- For the past three years lower mainland teams played exhibition games with teams in the IPBL.
  • 1999 – Six lower mainland teams officially join the IPBL: North Shore, Coquitlam, Vancouver, North Delta. White Rock and Abbotsford.
  • 2000 – Whalley and Penticton join the IPBL to boost the league to 13 teams. The league name was changed to the British Columbia Premier Baseball League (BCPBL) to reflect the teams playing in the league.
  • 2002 – College baseball joins the Premier Baseball Association to form the British Columbia College Baseball League (BCCBL). Teams included: Capilano Blues, Douglas College Royals, Kwantlen Eagles, Malaspina Mariners, and the University College of the Cariboo Sun Devils (Kamloops)
    •  Two left handed pitchers, Adam Loewen (Whalley Chiefs) and Jeff Francis (North Delta Blue Jays) make history when drafted in the first round of the June entry draft as the highest Canadians ever taken. Loewen was taken fourth overall by the Baltimore Orioles, and Francis, ninth overall, by the Colorado Rockies
  • 2003 – Prairie Baseball Academy Dawgs joins the BCCBL
  • 2004 – University of Calgary Dinos join BCCBL.
  • 2005 - Junior premier league joins Premier Baseball Association and use this year as a transition into BCJPBL.
  • 2006 – BCCBL changes name to Canadian College Baseball Conference (CCBC)
  • 2007 – BCJPBL enters competition under the guidelines and expectations of the Premier Baseball Association.
    • History is repeated as Kyle Lotzkar from Langley is taken in the first round by the Cincinnati Reds
  • 2008 – The association records the largest number of players and teams in three (3) divisions totaling twenty-six (26) teams. The PBL web site records tremendous interest with over 5,675,800 hits.
    • History is repeated as catcher, Kellin Deglan from the Langley Blaze is drafted 22nd overall in the first round by the Texas Rangers
  • 2009 - Vancouver Cannons re-join the PBL and Okanagan College joins CCBC bringing the total to twenty – eight teams in the association.
    • James Paxton who played for North Delta was drafted 37th overall in the first round by the Toronto Blue Jays out of college repeats history again
    • Malaspina Mariners change program name to Vancouver Island Baseball Institute (VIBI)
  • 2010 - Victoria Eagles join the PBL with a premier and junior premier team; Vancouver and Kelowna add a junior premier team to their program; Victoria Mavericks Collegiate Baseball Program is accepted into the CCBC replacing the Kwantlen Eagles for competition in 2011.
    • History is repeated as catcher, Kellin Deglan from the Langley Blaze is drafted 22nd overall in the first round by the Texas Rangers.
  • 2011 -  The association records the highest number of players playing as 31 teams will take to the field on opening day; 6 college teams in the CCBC; 12 premier teams in the BCPBL; and 13 junior premier teams in the BCJPBL.
more content