Prospects hire new head coach from within
Assistant GM Blundell to continue filling executive role for WMBL club
The Edmonton Prospects baseball team didn’t have to look very far for a new head coach with a qualified applicant already in their front office.
On Monday, the Prospects announced Jordan Blundell as their new head coach, replacing Ray Brown, who along with director of baseball development Orv Franchuk, resigned in September.
Blundell is currently the Prospects assistant general manager and will take on a dual role with the club.
The Edmonton native has an extensive baseball background. He played at the University of Jamestown and did a short professional stint with the Schaumburg Flyers of the Northern League.
“I went to baseball games here at this stadium when I was 12, 13, 14, and dreamed of playing here,” Blundell said following a media conference at RE/MAX Field. “That helped lead me to the point of where I am now. I fell in love with the game and fell in love with the pursuit of the game.
“I’ll stay on as the assistant GM through the off-season. We’ll kind of mitigate some of the time that I’ll be away during the season and I’ll work that out. I think I can bring some flexibility to this role. I do have a business degree, a business background. I think I’ll be able to fulfil the goals that I have laid out, similar to what I did last year, and I’ll be able to perform those throughout this off-season, and hopefully, grow those relationships that I was able to cultivate last year.”
Blundell worked with Brown and Franchuk last season in terms of player recruitment. The Prospects play in the Western Major Baseball League — to be rebranded the Western Canadian Baseball League next season — which is a summer college league.
Brown and Franchuk coached the team for the past five seasons, but walked away when they were unable to agree to terms on a contract extension with owner Patrick Cassidy.
“They brought credibility to the franchise. It was a pleasure of mine to work alongside those guys,” Blundell said. “I learned a lot from Ray and Orv. For me, the ability to learn from other coaches is important.
“I ran my own program for over a decade and things get stale. It’s tough to learn when you’re the guy who has to make all the decisions, and for me, it was a great opportunity to sit back and watch some veteran guys who have done this before to have a lifetime of baseball knowledge. I’ll take some of those lessons, for sure, and apply them to how I approach coaching and managing.”
Blundell began his coaching career in Jamestown, N.D. as an assistant with the college team in 2004. The following year, he was
He’s got a great coaching resume in terms of his ability to lead players on the field and make good decisions and put a good game plan together.
hired as head coach and director of operations at Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo, B.C.
In the summer of 2007, Blundell was hired as a Prospects coach, in the first year under Cassidy ’s ownership. Blundell then went on to coach the Sherwood Park Dukes and Swift Current Indians.
“He’s got a great coaching resume in terms of his ability to lead players on the field and make good decisions and put a good game plan together,” Cassidy said.
“But just as importantly, winning in this league has a lot to do with developing a great recruitment strategy, building the right pipelines, and having the right connections. And in that sense, Jordan has been working on both sides of the ledger. Both in terms of sending good quality Canadian kids to colleges throughout Canada and the U.S., and building those relationships and those pipelines that way and in turn, we get some players coming back from their clubs in terms of their college level.”
Last season, the Prospects advanced to the WMBL semifinals before losing to the eventual champions, the Medicine Hat Mavericks. Blundell hopes to maintain the level of excellence set by Brown and Franchuk during their time with the organization.
“The expectations are to make the playoffs, to put a good product on the field and to bring excitement to the fans,” Blundell said. “That’s part of what this is. The expectations are to be able to recruit leaders, guys who will integrate in our community properly. Guys that we can be proud of and players that will be able to spend some time with youth baseball players and pass on the knowledge. That’s kind of what this is, for kids in this community.”