‘Over the moon’: Sask. slugger Carter Beck reflects on historic MLB draft selection

Life feels a little bit different for Carter Beck after a weekend which changed the trajectory of his baseball career.

“I’m still a little over the moon over it,” Beck said. “I haven’t fully caught my breath.”

Read more:

• Carnduff’s Carter Beck makes baseball history, drafted 26th overall by Atlanta Braves
• Riders roar to 38-7 victory over Hamilton Tiger-Cats in CFL action
• Sask. para swimmer Shelby Newkirk smashes own national record at Canadian Trials

On Saturday, Beck gathered with loved ones in the yard of his family’s home in Carnduff, Sask. to watch the 2026 MLB Draft together.

Just days after celebrating his 21st birthday, balloons and lawn chairs were set up in the yard as Beck waited to be selected by a major-league club.

But nothing prepared him for the call he received just before 2 p.m. from the Atlanta Braves.

“I was for sure expecting to go (Saturday), but I’ll be honest, I wasn’t thinking it would happen right here,” Beck said.

“It was super cool to get that opportunity. I joked around with a few people and said, ‘Oh, we probably got 20 or 30 more minutes of waiting to do.’ All of the sudden I got a phone call and there it was. It happened.”

Despite being projected as a second- or third-round pick, Beck was taken by Atlanta with the 26th overall pick to lead off the prospect promotion incentive picks following the first round.

“It was unreal,” Beck said.

“It was so cool just seeing how everybody reacted, and everybody’s rooting for me so much.”

Beck is now the highest-drafted Saskatchewan player in MLB history, surpassing Muenster’s Logan Hofmann, who was chosen with the 138th overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Greg Brons has spent decades working with the province’s top athletes on the diamond as Baseball Sask’s high-performance director. He said Saturday’s moment was historic for the program.

“I’ve been at this job for 26 years, and we’ve had draft picks, but I never imagined that we’d get somebody in the first round,” Brons said.

Beck rocketed up the draft board thanks to a stellar junior season at Indiana State University, where he was named the Missouri Valley Conference’s player of the year with a .346 batting average, 82 hits, 59 RBIs, 16 home runs and 12 stolen bases.

Compared to just two years ago, it’s a night-and-day scenario for Beck who arrived at training camp for the Western Canadian Baseball League’s Saskatoon Berries in 2024 as a sophomore from the University of Mary in NCAA Division II baseball.

“Everybody hopes and dreams to be a first-round pick,” Beck said.

“I don’t know if I could say two years ago when I stepped on the Berries’ field for the first time with their first season after a (NCAA Division II) season, that I’d be going in the first round.”

Prior to being drafted 26th overall by the Atlanta Braves, Carter Beck spent two seasons with the Saskatoon Berries where he was twice named a WCBL all-star. (Steve Hiscock/Saskatoon Berries)

Berries cheer on Beck from Saskatoon

Even though Beck’s time with the Berries has drawn to a close, much of the talk on Sunday at Cairns Field revolved around the franchise’s first true superstar getting his major-league opportunity.

“He’s the most humble guy in the world and works for everything he’s ever gotten,” said Ethan Murdoch, one of Beck’s 2025 teammates. “He just never made any excuses. He’s from Carnduff, Saskatchewan, and now he’s a first rounder.”

While Beck has made history at the provincial level, he’s also become the Western Canadian Baseball League’s highest-drafted Canadian-born player.

Berries head coach Joe Carnahan said Beck’s work ethic is what led him to become a star in Saskatoon, and it will help carry him through his professional career.

“He’s worked harder than anybody I’ve ever seen in my life,” Carnahan said. “I just remember two years ago he’d show up after a shift at work with his steel-toed boots on, and he’d get out in the outfield.”

A dominant force during his time in the WCBL, Beck was twice named a league all-star, and took home Most Outstanding Canadian and Rookie of the Year honours in 2024.

Berries pitcher Diego Quinonez faced Beck daily in practice. He said Beck’s ability to make contact at the plate consistently is what stood out the most in the slugger’s game.

“He’s just a tough out,” Quinonez said.

“He has a different motor. He’s a grinder. He hits mistakes and takes advantage of deep counts and pitchers’ weaknesses. He’s a well-established hitter, and he’s definitely a pro hitter, in my opinion.”

According to Beck, he was able to develop those skills over nearly 100 career games of summer ball with the Berries, and he hopes those traits will be on full display after he signs his first professional contract in the Braves’ minor-league system.

“Whatever it takes,” Beck said.

“Whether it’s jumping into a wall full speed or hitting a ground ball with a guy on third and one out, and getting a guy running. Just getting my job done. That’s something I take a lot of pride in.”

Beck will make his highly anticipated return to Cairns Field on Wednesday night, as he will be in attendance for the Berries contest against the Lethbridge Bulls and will throw out the opening pitch.

Beck leads Saskatchewan charge

Heading westward on a bus with Team Saskatchewan ahead of the inaugural Morneau Cup U19 national championship in Okotoks, Alta., Brons is getting an up-close view of the next wave of talent from the province this week.

He said Beck’s story of rising through the ranks with the Baseball Sask program to the 26th overall pick in the draft is one he’s imparting on his players as they chase a Canadian title.

“It proves that you don’t really have to leave the province to become a great baseball player,” Brons said.

As one of baseball’s most intriguing prospects with his combination of power and the plate and speed in the outfield, Beck said it’s been a remarkable few years after getting his feet wet in the Team Saskatchewan program.

“It’s still a little surreal that this is where I’m at right now, just with how far I’ve came in the last three years,” Beck said. “It’s just kind of went from being a dream to the normal life I’m in.”

Brons first crossed paths with Beck during the COVID-19 pandemic at a prep baseball camp, where he took notice of his multi-sport ability on the diamond, the hockey rink and on the track.

After a few years of watching Beck switch between the infield and behind the plate, he said he pushed the teenage Beck to the outfield to better utilize his speed.

“At the Canada Games in 2022 after playing third base and catching for most of the season I said, ‘You’re going to play some outfield,’” Brons said.

“He was like, ‘Yeah, I can do it.’ He made some pretty good plays out there for us, where we captured a bronze medal in the final game against Team B.C.”

Years later, Beck’s dedication to the provincial program and the young athletes in the dugout is still evident, according to Brons.

“I was just doing a 13-U camp about a week ago and a lot of kids said, ‘Yeah, he came out to our practice,’” Brons said. “What I heard was the message of ‘Remember where you’re from and work hard.’”

From Beck, to Cory Wouters, to Nathan Houston and Murdoch, the Berries have utilized Saskatchewan-born talent to fill out their lineup since their inception as a franchise.

Carnahan said while Beck had the talent and opportunities to move away from his home province, the confidence shown by the Braves indicates there are hidden gems on diamonds across Saskatchewan.

“He didn’t go chasing travel ball or all this other stuff,” Carnahan said. “He played multiple sports, worked hard, just got better every year and competed.”

With his head still spinning from a draft day he’ll never forget, Beck’s thoughts on Saturday immediately went towards the community which made him a top MLB prospect and the class of young athletes who one day hope to join him in the major league ranks.

“I’m trying to be a role model for the Saskatchewan kids and show them that you come from a town of 1,000 an hour away from a city, that you can go and still do big things,” Beck said.

“You can still get to places. You don’t need to come the same route that everybody else comes from.”