Breaking down the Chukars’ ’26 season: Who was the team MVP?

IDAHO FALLS — For a team that came one win shy of a league championship a year ago, it is easy to view the Chukars’ 2026 season as a failure.

Idaho Falls finished with a 44-51 record — fourth-worst in the Pioneer Baseball League.

But the 2026 campaign wasn’t as simple as that.

The team’s front office learned it was losing its manager in November. And things only got worse over the following months, with several key contributors joining Troy Percival on the expansion Long Beach Coast.

Eight members of the 2025 Chukars, including ace Gary Grosjean and PBL batting champ Benjamin Rosengard, migrated south, helping Long Beach earn a playoff berth.

Idaho Falls spent the first month-plus of the 2026 season reeling from the losses, and started the season with a disastrous 2-21 record.

Once the Chukars found answers for some important roster questions, with the additions of Justin Trimble, Parker Lester and Mason Bryant to name a few, they developed a winning rhythm. After the 2-21 start, the Chukars won 42 of 72 games and were in contention for a playoff spot entering the final week.

That gave Idaho Falls a .583 winning percentage after game No. 23 — by comparison, the Glacier Range Riders finished the season with the league’s fifth-best record, 52-44, for a .542 winning percentage. The fourth-place Modesto Roadsters posted a .604.

Trimble was key to the turnaround, finishing with team-leading totals in home runs (36) and batting average, while ending the year second on the club to Sam Canton on in hits (158) and RBIs (145).

Franchise player Tyler Wyatt struggled a bit in the early going, but finished the season with a .388 average, 23 homers and 116 RBIs. Along the way, Wyatt permanently etched his name in PBL history, finishing the season on a league-record 49-game hitting streak.

Bryant posted a 5.57 ERA — second-lowest on the squad, behind Ryan Inouye (5.47).

Inouye also matched Josh Leerssen with a team-leading five wins, to go with three saves — second to Hunter Hargett’s 11.

Inouye, from the start of the season, was Idaho Falls’ most dependable pitcher.

For that reason, the sidewinding right-hander is East Idaho Sports’ Chukars Pitcher of the Year.

He tossed 49-1/3 innings and allowed just 48 hits while striking out 53.

Determining an offensive MVP is a bit more difficult.

Trimble, in just 82 games with the club, swatted a franchise single-season record 36 homers.

But Canton set league records for RBIs (161) and runs scored (145), while leading the team in games played (92), hits (167) and doubles (37). Canton tied Ty Dooley for the team lead in stolen bases, with 15, but he got his on 16 attempts while Dooley needed 18.

And his .409 average and 35 homers were both second to Trimble’s marks.

While Trimble’s success was undoubtedly key to the Chukars’ second-half surge, and one of the best in club history, the key to the game is outscoring the opponent. And with a struggle-ridden pitching staff, the Chukars’ key to doing so was scoring en masse.

No one has ever done that better than Canton did this year — at least not in the PBL.

The outfielder is our Chukars Hitter of the Year for his season of brilliance.

The Chukars will watch the PBL playoffs this year, which was not the goal. But they found several key additions moving forward and, if they can keep those players in Idaho Falls, could be legitimate contenders next year.