Cody Gunderson back in Carillon black

After finishing his division one college career earlier this spring, Gunderson is back in Manitoba and playing for the Carillon Sultans once again. He didn’t play with the Sultans last season as he recovered from an injury.

During the first game of a double-header against St Boniface, Gunderson hammered the first pitch he saw for a single, then in his second at bat he took three consecutive balls before knocking a 3-0 strike over the fence, despite hitting it off the end of his bat.

“I got a fastball down the middle, I figured I should probably swing,” Gunderson said, laughing.

The St Malo product added throughout his time at Charlotte in the NCAA his coaches gave him the green light to swing on 3-0 counts, to great effect.

Gunderson ended the game a perfect 3/3 at the plate in his only three at bats and took to the field to play first base in the following game.

“It’s nice to be back with the boys and at least win one of them,” Gunderson said after Carillon dropped the second game of the double-header.

“(It’s my) last season, so I figured it would be fun to play with my buddies one last time and see what we can do.”

The St Malo-born first baseman/catcher finished his collegiate career with a 0.335 batting average with 69 RBIs and 17 home runs, earning all-conference nods in both 2025 and 2026, joining the 49ers program after two years at a junior college in Kansas.

This is his final year to both be able to play junior baseball and his last year of eligibility for the MLB draft. Gunderson said his goal is to go as far in baseball as possible, but

“If it doesn’t come, it doesn’t come,” he said.

“Everything happens for a reason.”