Brayden MacEwen certainly has a familiarity with the Laurentian Voyageurs men's baseball group that he is about to lead into OUA league play for the first time this fall.

Part of the inaugural class of athletes who helped launched the program in 2018, MacEwen is now the head coach of the team that features the likes of Callum Belshaw and Andrew Weber, Reid Deibert and Ethan Berubé - all of whom were teammates of his on the 2021 L.U. squad.

"I helped coach with Kirby (Smith - head coach in 2021/2002) and Steve (Donahue - head coach in 2023) the last two years," said MacEwen, raised largely in the Parry Sound region but having played the bulk of his youth rep baseball with the Muskoka Hornets in Huntsville.

"Kirby could get guys who could come out to help coach but he also wanted guys who had been around the program."

For as much as MacEwen can look to his first season in the role as a learning opportunity, the simple truth for this particular OUA offering is that the opportunity is an abbreviated one, at best.

"It's such a short season," noted the young man who graduated with a double major in Psychology and Criminology and a minor in Indigenous Studies. "We have two weeks of training camp and then start playing; and five weeks later, the season is over."

"It's tough as a new player," added MacEwen. "They're jumping into something they're not used to and by the time they get used to it, it's over."

Posting a slightly less than .500 record a year ago, Laurentian is looking to match or improve on that, with MacEwen having identified a couple of keys that could certainly make this happen.

"Hitting when we need to; getting a hit when we need one - that's a big thing," he said. "And reducing tough innings. When we lose, we tend to lose it in one really bad inning."

"Obviously, we are going to give up runs - but when we do, we can't give up a bnch."

While there are only 17 players on the roster this year - some teams will arrive in Sudbury with as many as 25 players or so - MacEwen is counting on the versatility of this group to help level the playing field.

"All of these guys are athletic," he said. "Whether it's their strength or speed or agility, that's something that looks better from previous years. And we have a lot of guy s who can play multiple positions."

The Voyageurs open at home this weekend - weather permitting - hosting the Queen's Gaels on Saturday and the York Lions on Sunday at the Terry Fox Sports Complex.

Rounding out the Laurentian roster are Nicholas Verbeek, Cam DenHoed, William Arsenault, Flynn Patterson, Anthony Gutscher, Ryan Lacasse, Luke Arruda, Will Darbel, Noah Portelance, Kyle Kennedy, Noah Leveille, Noah Casault and Noah O’Brien.