The games haven't started yet, but the pre-season rankings are in.

The first edition of the 2026 Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) Power Rankings - presented by FortisAlberta - provide an early glimpse of the pecking order for teams from across Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Let's take a closer look at where teams ended up.

In top spot are the Regina Red Sox, the defending WCBL champions. The Red Sox posted a 29-27 record during the 2025 regular season before elevating their play in the postseason to capture the Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy. Playoff MVP Brady Bye is back for another summer at Currie Field and will seek to lead the Red Sox to another title.

The Sylvan Lake Gulls slot into second place after finishing as the top team in the West Division playoffs last year. The Lake Boys were one strike away from sweeping the Red Sox and capturing their first WCBL title, but the baseball gods had other plans. Outfielder Cooper Ciesielski - the league's 2024 MVP - is back with the Gulls and looking to pick up where he left off.

After dominating the league with a three-peat of championships from 2022 through 2024, the Okotoks Dawgs ended the 2025 regular season atop the West Division standings, but fell to the Gulls in the postseason. They come into the Power Rankings in third, but could move up quickly with a hot start. The Dawgs made off-season improvements to their pitching staff and will lean on veteran infielders Connor Crowson (2024 WCBL Playoff MVP), Ricardo Sanchez (2022 WCBL MVP), and franchise home run leader Nash Crowell for offence.

The Saskatoon Berries set a single-season WCBL record for wins last season by going 46-9 in the regular season. They land in fourth here, but will look to dominate from the first pitch of Opening Day to the final inning of the postseason. Returning sluggers Ethan Murdoch and Nathan Houston will try to rack up runs, while pitchers Merek Yeager and Tanner Hosick will do their best to shut down opposing batters.

They were a steady team last summer, led by the mound heroics of Levi Abbott, but the Lethbridge Bulls could not move past the Dawgs and the Gulls in the regular season or the playoffs. Abbott has moved on, but the Bulls are bringing back a balanced roster and could challenge for first in the West Division this year. For now though, they're in fifth in the Power Rankings.

Over in the East Division, the Medicine Hat Mavericks are looking to move on from a disappointing end to the 2025 postseason. Their 34-21 record put them in second behind the Berries heading into the playoffs, but the Red Sox upset the Mavs and sent them home early. Infielder Carter Roth is back for another summer of barreling up baseballs, as are the Vulcano brothers, Johnny and Adam, and local power hitter Evan Morrison. The Mavericks are in sixth in the pre-season rankings ahead of the 2026 campaign.

It's tough to know what to expect from the Moose Jaw Miller Express each year, but no matter how the regular season goes, they're never an easy out in the playoffs. After representing the East Division in the 2022 and 2024 championship finals, the Millers gave the heavily-favoured Berries all they could handle in an opening round loss to Saskatoon last August. With the return of RBI machine William Edwards and heart-and-soul infielder Thomas Soto, as well as ace Westin Walls and bullpen beast Nathan Pisio, the Miller Express promise to be competitive and pesky yet again. They sit in seventh, but could be quick risers.

Coming in at eighth are the Brooks Bombers, who have qualified for the postseason for two straight summers but are still searching for their first season of .500 or better. Can new head coach Justin Gomez deliver a winning campaign and another trip to the playoffs?

Battling the Bombers in the West Division are the ninth-ranked Fort McMurray Giants, who are celebrating their 10th year in the WCBL in 2026. Catcher Nick Sauve and stud pitcher Ashe Ammerlaan will form a strong battery for the Giants. If they can successfully build around those two stars, they could climb up both the standings and the Power Rankings this year.

In 10th place are the Swift Current 57's, who have expanded their roster this season and implemented a new coaching staff under Jared Franklin. The community is ready for a return to their historic championship roots after going 10-45 last season.

The Weyburn Beavers finished fifth in the East Division in 2025 and are also hungry for a playoff return. They enter the Power Rankings in 11th spot. Their Opening Weekend includes a date with the Saskatoon Berries for the Rural Roots Baseball Classic in Carnduff, Saskatchewan. Head coach Cam Williams will look to get the Beavers going early in the season.

The final spot in the Power Rankings belongs to the Energy City Cactus Rats, who finished last in the West Division with a 20-35 record last summer. The prickly rodents will try to push the pace early and qualify for the postseason for the first time since converting from the Prospects to the Cactus Rats.