Kelowna Falcons

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Template:Short description Template:Infobox baseball team The Kelowna Falcons are a collegiate summer baseball team located in Kelowna, British Columbia. The Falcons are members of the West Coast League and play their home games at Elks Stadium.

Originally an expansion team in the Pacific International League, the Falcons left the league following the 2004 season and became a founding member of the West Coast League. The Falcons have won two division titles and have made two appearances in the WCL Championship; most recently in 2018.

History

The franchise traces its roots back to the Kelowna Grizzlies, who were founded in 1993. The Grizzlies were members of the Pacific International League. During their tenure the Grizzlies won the 1995 league championship. Following the 1998 the club suspended operations. The franchise was sold in 2000 and rebranded as the Falcons. Kelowna continued this membership with the Pacific International League playing from 2000 through 2004. In 2005, the Falcons along with Bellingham, Bend, Spokane, and Wenatchee left the league to form the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League (WCCBL).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2010

The Falcons finished second in the East Division with a 22-26 record.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Pitcher Dayne Quist lead the league with an ERA of 1.40 and finished with 50 strikeouts and six wins on the mound. Ben Edlestein finished with a batting average of .347.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 16,027 fans attended games for an average of 668 per game.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Falcons were swept in the Division Series by the AppleSox 0-2.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 1,132 total fans attended Kelowna's only home game in the playoffs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2022 season

The Falcons failed to make it to the postseason for the second straight season, finishing seventh in the north division with a record of 20-33, 13 games behind the division winning Bellingham Bells.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Falcons saw 22,722 total fans for an average of 947 per game.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Jasper Nelson (Sacramento State) and Nick Woodcock (Yavapai College) received honorable mentions in the All-WCL team after the season.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2023 season

On July 17, Koen Van't Klooster was named pitcher of the week.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Falcons finished fourth in the north division.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The team averaged 1,064 fans per game, below the league average.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2024

On July 9, Trey Duffield and Gavyn Jones were selected to represent the Falcons in the All Star Game.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Falcons failed to improve on their 31-23 record from the previous season, posting a 20-34 record and finishing sixth in the north division, 15 games behind the division leading AppleSox.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 23,776 fans attended home games for an average of 914 per game.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Falcons failed to make the postseason.

2025

Joel Hogan was named pitcher of the week by the league on June 9.<ref>https://westcoastleague.com/hogan-and-schleichardt-receive-weekly-honors/</ref> Gio De Graau (Newman) earned the same honor on June 30.<ref>https://westcoastleague.com/markey-and-de-graauw-capture-weekly-honors/</ref>

De Graau was selected to represent Kelowna at the All Star Game in Bellingham on July 8.<ref>https://westcoastleague.com/2025-wcl-all-stars-announced/</ref>

Former Falcon JP Smith was selected in the 2025 Major League Baseball draft.<ref>https://westcoastleague.com/eight-current-wcl-players-selected-in-mlb-draft/</ref>

The Falcons regressed from the previous season. The team went 19-35 and finished last in the North Division.<ref>https://baseball.pointstreak.com/standings.html?leagueid=145&seasonid=34070</ref> 13,746 total fans attended the Falcons' twenty-seven home games for an average of 509 fans per game.<ref>https://baseball.pointstreak.com/attendance.html?leagueid=145&seasonid=34070</ref>

The Falcons were eliminated from playoff contention for the second straight season.

Results by season

Season League Division Finish Wins Losses Win% GB Postseason Manager
2000 PIL 16 13 .551 Did Not Qualify
2001 PIL 16 19 .457 Did Not Qualify Mike McGuire
2002 PIL 18 18 .500 Did Not Qualify Kevin Tucker
2003 PIL 14 16 .466 Did Not Qualify Dax Leone
2004 PIL 22 14 .611 Runner-Up Dax Leone
2005 WCL 16 20 .444 Did Not Qualify Brian Hoop
2006 WCL 13 29 .309 Did Not Qualify David Robb
2007 WCL 12 30 .285 Did Not Qualify Duane Bozic
2008 WCL 21 20 .512 Lost Division Series Kevin Frady
2009 WCL 24 24 .500 Lost Division Series Kevin Frady
2010 WCL East 2nd 22 26 .458 7 Lost Division Series 0-2 (Wenatchee) Kevin Frady
2011 WCL East 4th 19 34 .358 19.5 Did Not Qualify Al Cantwell
2012 WCL East 3rd 28 26 .519 9 Did Not Qualify Al Cantwell
2013 WCL North 5th 19 35 .352 12.5 Did Not Qualify Geoff White
2014 WCL East 4th 14 39 .264 20.5 Did Not Qualify Billy Clontz
2015 WCL East 1st 34 19 .642 0 Won Division Series 2-1 (Bellingham)
Lost Championship Series 0-2 (Bend) 		Billy Clontz
2016 WCL North 4th 25 29 .463 15 Did Not Qualify Bryan Donahue
2017 WCL North 2nd 28 26 .519 1 Lost Division Series 0-2 (Victoria) Bryan Donahue
2018 WCL North 2nd 28 26 .519 7 Won Division Series 2-1 (Bellingham)
Lost Championship Series 0-2 (Corvallis) 		Bryan Donahue
2019 WCL North 6th 17 35 .327 21 Did Not Qualify Ryan Wright
2020 Season cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic)
2021 Season cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic)
2022 WCL North 7th 20 33 .377 13 Did Not Qualify Doug Noce
2023 WCL North 4th 31 23 .574 7.5 Lost North Divisional Series 0-2 (Bells) Doug Noce
2024 WCL North 6th 20 32 .385 14 Did Not Qualify Doug Noce
2025 WCL North 8th 19 35 .352 15 Did Not Qualify Doug Noce
League Champions Runner-Up Playoff Team

Playoff Appearances

  • 2004
  • 2008
  • 2009
  • 2010
  • 2015 East Division Champions
  • 2017 North Division First Half Champions
  • 2018 North Division Champions
  • 2023 Wildcard Berth

Alumni in Major League Baseball

References

Template:Reflist

Template:West Coast League

Template:College Summer Baseball

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