Ethan Menard’s start to his second season with the Saskatoon Berries may have come a bit later than he expected, but the top-of-the-lineup slugger has certainly made up for lost time.
Missing Saskatoon’s first nine games of the Western Canadian Baseball League season with his University of Texas-Tyler team playing in the NCAA Division II College World Series, Menard has put together an MVP-calibre campaign in just 30 games for the Berries.
A threat to capture a triple crown title, Menard leads all WCBL batters this summer with a .404 batting average and 12 home runs, while ranking third in the league with 46 RBIs.
“It’s unbelievable every night,” Berries outfielder Ethan Murdoch said. “It seems like every day he puts together a few swings where it’s like, ‘Man, that could be anybody’s best swing of the year.’ It seems like he does it every day, even some of his flyouts.”
As part of that dominance at the plate, Menard has strung together a 17-game hit streak that has helped rocket the Berries to first place in the WCBL with a 39-7 record.
The combination of individual and team success has made this senior season a special one for the power-hitting infielder.
“I couldn’t be happier,” Menard said. “Coming through in the big spots when I need to, that’s been the thing that I’ve been trying to chase after. It’s just worked out to this point, so hopefully it keeps going.”
Menard is coming off an MVP performance at the 2025 WCBL All-Star Game earlier this month in Okotoks, Alta., delivering the game’s lone home run in a 10-3 victory for the East Division.
Also competing in the league’s annual home run derby, Menard became the second Berries player to win all-star game MVP honours after Carter Beck last season.
That was the second-most surprising moment of his day, however, as his father Marty, stepmom Kindi and four siblings, Easton, Eibilene, Marti Kay and Edge, drove nearly 3,200 kilometres from their home state of Louisiana to meet him for all-star weekend.
“I was sitting in the locker room before the home run derby and Carter Beck comes up to me and said that somebody needed to do an interview about a jersey,” Menard said. “I was like, ‘All right, whatever.’ At Okotoks, they have that little pavilion in left field, so they were all hiding behind it. I’m walking up the little hill and they all jumped out and surprised me. It was just pure shock.”
It was a trip that began the Monday prior, with the Menard family working their way up through the United States before arriving at Seaman Stadium in Okotoks less than two hours before game time.
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“We drove a lot of miles and we surprised Ethan in Okotoks,” Marty Menard said. “It was really nice. He had no clue we were here.”
Following Ethan’s MVP showing in Okotoks, the Menard family loaded back onto the highway to make the trek to Saskatoon and Cairns Field, where their eldest son has become a fan favourite since arriving just over a year ago.
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According to Marty, it’s still surreal to hear stories of how well-known Ethan is in the community due to his combination of power hitting and an affable personality.
“We hear the ‘Mayor of Saskatoon’ and all of these things,” Marty said. “To walk in and see all of this and 2,000 people, I mean, I think his high school championship had 1,200 people. He was like, ‘Dad, it’s just amazing there and I can’t wait to go back.’ So we couldn’t wait to go see.”
On Thursday, the Berries marked their return to their home diamond after a season-long road trip, one for which the Menard family was front and centre as Saskatoon hosted the Swift Current 57’s.
In the eighth inning, with Menard making his fifth plate appearance of the night, the WCBL’s league leader in home runs went deep again with his family watching on to help secure a 9-0 shutout victory for Saskatoon.
“It’s everything I could ask for as a ballplayer,” he said. “You always hope to have good seasons wherever you go and help the team. Just being able to do that in front of them is really big, so it’s nice having them out.”
Watching his son fist-pump around first base as the ball sailed over the wall in left field was an emotional moment for Marty and the rest of the Menard family.
“Chills, there’s no other way to describe it,” Marty said.
Leaning on Menard to provide a bulk of the team’s offence this season, Berries head coach Joe Carnahan said he had an inkling that his first baseman would do something special on Thursday night — especially considering who was in attendance to watch Menard touch all four bases with the home run.
“That’s what it’s all about, special moments like that,” Carnahan said. “If I was a betting man, I kind of had a feeling he was going to hit a home run (Thursday) like he did in the all-sar game. He comes up in big spots, no matter what those big spots are.”
A threat to take home league Most Valuable Player honours at the end of the season, Menard says he is being fuelled by a desire to bring a championship to Saskatoon in his senior season.
But even with the dog days of the baseball season sinking in, it’s weeks like the one he just experienced that deliver perspective on why he’s devoted his life to the diamond.
“It can be tough with a lot of games in not a lot of days,” Ethan said. “Just seeing them and having them here, it really just reminds you of what you’re doing it for. You’re doing it for the little kid that’s inside of you, the want to compete and do it at the biggest level that you can. Having them there really pushes me, trying to be a role model for my little siblings.”
Moments after recording the final out in their victory over Swift Current, it was a quick beeline over to the first base-side fence line for Menard to share in one of those moments with his family.
Those moments have become exceedingly rare over the years with his baseball career taking him across North America, but make the weeklong road trips and hours in the car worth it for the Menards.
“My youngest is five and a half (years old) and watching him wait on his brother’s autograph was about as good as it gets,” Marty said.
Sitting just five wins away from tying the WCBL record for wins in a single season, the Berries (39-7) kick off a home-and-home series against the Moose Jaw Miller Express (21-26) at Cairns Field on Saturday at 6 p.m.
