UPEI Panthers turn attention to Canadian university baseball championship

Less than a week after repeating as Atlantic Collegiate Baseball Association champions, the UPEI Panthers are turning their attention to winning a national title.

The Panthers, who have won back-to-back conference championships in their first two years of existence, were scheduled to travel to Ottawa on Oct. 21 for the eight-team Canadian national university baseball championship, which runs from Oct. 22 to 25.

“We get to play a lot of the Ontario teams and when you come from small-town P.E.I., you’re playing a couple of big provinces,” said Panthers head coach Patrick Young. “But I don’t have a doubt that our guys will compete and play, and I think we have a good chance to bring home a national championship.”

The Panthers earned a berth in the 2026 nationals after winning the 2025 ACBA title. As a result of last weekend’s ACBA championship, the Panthers are also guaranteed a berth in the 2027 Canadian university baseball championship tournament.

The UNB Reds, who finished runner-up to UPEI in the last two years, have also secured a berth in the 2026 and 2027 nationals.

“Obviously, from the start of the year, it felt really good knowing that we were heading to nationals because of our success last year, which was really cool being the first year in the league for UPEI,” said Panthers third baseman Sam Worth. “Knowing that we’re heading there this year as Atlantic champions also feels really good as well.

“It’ll give our team some confidence and I’m excited for it, and I’m sure the rest of the guys are. I’m sure we’ll represent the Island well.”

The teams are placed in two four-team pools, and each team will play three round-robin games against teams in their pool.

The Panthers, who edged the UNB Reds 4-3 in the ACBA title game on Oct. 18, open against the University of Waterloo Warriors on Oct. 22 at 8 p.m. UPEI then plays twice on Oct. 23 – versus the University of Toronto Varsity Blues at 10 a.m., and the host Carleton Ravens at 4 p.m.

The results of the round-robin games will determine the schedule for the remainder of the weekend.

The Panthers will look to continue playing an all-round game – strong pitching, hitting and defence – at the nationals. In the 2026 ACBA championship, held at Memorial Field in Charlottetown, the Panthers used only five pitchers in the four games and outscored their opposition 24-6.

UPEI second baseman Graysen LaPorte of Cornwall, P.E.I., is confident the Panthers can carry that strong play into the nationals.

“When our bats are hot, we’re a hard team to beat,” said LaPorte, 21.

The UPEI baseball is considered a club team and does not have varsity status. Thus, the players and team officials had to do a lot of work off the field, especially fundraising.

“It’s awesome. It’s super exciting. It’s something we’ve looked forward to all year, and a lot of work has gone into heading to nationals and being able to represent our province, our school,” said 22-year-old first baseman Nathan Nielsen, from Alberry Plains, P.E.I. “We had to do a lot of fundraising, and we have a lot of community support from a lot of different organizations.

“It’s going to be super special to get out to Ottawa, hit the field and take on some of the best university teams.”

Jason Simmonds is a sports reporter at The Guardian in Prince Edward Island. He can be reached at jsimmonds@postmedia.com and followed on X @JpsportsJason.