Brantford's Shannon, Cambridge's Stashans-Alvarado take OBA top honors
Brantford Red Sox 16U teammates were honored by the Ontario Baseball Association. Ty Shannon (left) was named OBA player of the year while Ethan Hunter was named OBA pitcher of the year in the 14 and over divisions. Both won the same categories with the Intercounty Baseball Association. (Photo _ Brantford Expositor).
By Bob Elliott
Canadian Baseball Network
Ty Shannon of the Brantford Red Sox had every reason to tie one on last weekend.
Only problem was Shannon was the stud of the 16U Red Sox, so it will be a few years before he can celebrate.
Shannon was a primary reason for Brantford’s 43-14-1 championship season, as they won both Inter County regular-season and playoff titles.
In 58 games, he batted .341 with a team-high 46 hits and 39 RBIs. And he delivered in the clutch: hitting .366 with runners in scoring position.
Showing versatility, Shannon caught over 137 innings, fielded .980, and went 6-0 with a 2.23 ERA from the mound. The team captain, showed character, leadership, as well as clutch performance which earned near-unanimous MVP votes.
At the annual OBA convention he earned senior player of the year.
Top Poycher No. 2: Shannon had company on stage as his Brantford teammate Ethan Hunter was named rep pitcher of the year 14 and above. In 73 innings, he had 101 strikeouts and a 1.82 ERA
Top Player No. 2” Caiden Stashans-Alvarado of the Cambridge Cubs 13U Tier 1 made it a clean sweep for the OBA, winning junior player of the year.
Stashans-Alvarado also won ICBA Junior player of the year. He displayed a .529 batting average while collecting 48 RBIs, including 27 extra-base hits, and 33 stolen bases.
He provided leadership behind the plate, at shortstop and on the mound whenever called upon. Stashans-Alvarado complete skillset and elite play drove his team’s success.
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Top pitcher No. 2: La’Kai Delancy won the junior pitcher of the year for the Hawks for the OBA at 13U.
Besides the mound, he played outfield and caught.
Toronto Maple Leafs manage ROb Butler, former Toronto Blue Jay.
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HOF Class of 2026: Ron Butler, Michael Lebel, and Don McKnight: Butler, an East York native realized his dream of playing for his hometown Toronto Blue Jays when he received the call to the majors while playing at Triple-A Syracuse. He was there on a Friday when he learned he would be joining the Blue Jays the following day in Detroit. As he walked from the first-base dugout toward the clubhouse in the right-field corner, Butler recalled having tears in his eyes. With Toronto, Butler appeared in 17 games, batting .271 with two RBIs and two stolen bases. After spending the 1995 season in Toronto’s minor-league system, He finished playing 109 games with the Philadelphia Phillies, appearing in 43 games and the Jays. Butler operated a hitting academy in Ajax, coached with Canada’s Junior National Team and currently manages the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Michael Lebel has been an integral part of baseball in Sault Ste. Marie for decades, serving as a volunteer, coach and executive. He served as president of the Soo Minor Association for roughly 35 years and played a significant role in growing the game throughout Northern Ontario. He also founded the Soo Black Sox, the Great Lakes League and the Northern Elite League. He was inducted into the Sault Ste. Marie Sports Hall of Fame in 2017. Lebel has won seven provincial championships with and finished as a runner-up six times.
McKnight’s involvement in baseball spans eight decades. His journey began as a player with the Newmarket in the late 1940s and later became heavily involved off the field, serving as a coach, umpire and administrator with the Newmarket, York-Simcoe Association and Baseball Ontario. After coaching his two sons, McKnight remained involved in the game and transitioned into administration, eventually becoming a key leader with the provincial body. McKnight said at the time of his induction into the Newmarket Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.
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Former OBA players of the year:
Players
Year Junior and Senior Players of the Year
1994 Chris Green, Mike Kusiewicz
1995 Paul Brown, Shawn Pearson
1996 Dan Hansen, Doug Vandecaveye
1997 Scott Thorman, Jason Mandryk
1998 Bradley Gould, Patrick Nailer
1999 Chris Emanuele, Tanner Watson
2000 Derek Lowe, BJ Richardson
2001 Dan Zehr, Chris Robinson
2002 Kate Psota, Jamie Romak
2003 Ian Choy, Cherie Piper
2004 Trevor Barton, Davey Wallace
2005 Cain Monaghan, Kevin Long
2006 Tanner Nivins, Greg Densem
2007 McCalla Sturgeon, Robert Cooper
2008 Geoffrey Seto, Larry Balkwill
2009 Nicholas Dimpfel, Ryan Zimmer
2010 Josh Naylor, Jake Lumley
2011 Connor May, Byron Reichstein
2012 Jason Stott, Matt Smith
2013 Noah Naylor, Justin Gideon
2014 Noah Roberts, Zachary Fascia
2015 Colin Mandarich, Jake Brennan
2016 Joe Kuin, Tyrell Schofield-Sam
2017 Carson Lumley, Josh Arce
2018 Brett Talbot, Carter Arbuthnot
2019 Jorja Sandilands, Scott Austin
2020 COVID
2021 Markus Woodley, Ryan McGivney
2022 Clive O’Brien, Darian Barnes
2023 Westin Merrit, Cameron Tully
2024 Zander Parsons, Isaac Cartier
2025 Victoria Curro. Marquise Gordon
2026 Caiden Stashans-Alvarado, Ty Shannon.
(Pro players or those drafted listed in bold.)
Award winners
Players
Naep Player of The Year 13U & Below _ Caiden Stashans-Alvarado
Rep Player of The Year 14U & Above _Ty Shannon
Select Player of The Year 13U & Below _ Lucas Todd
Select Player of The Year 14U & Above _ Luke Robinson
Rep Pitcher of The Year 13U & Below _ La’Kai Delancy
Rep Pitcher of The Year 14U & Above _ Ethan Hunter
Select Pitcher of the year 13U & Below _ Akiva Tobias
Select Pitcher of the year 14U & Above _ Carson Delaney
Rep Team of The Year _ Waterloo Tigers 18U AAA
Teams
Select Team of the Year _ Southwest London Scorpions 15U DS
16U Provincial Team Award of Excellence _ Ashlynn Jolicoeur
17U Provincial Team Award of Excellence _ Brett Rienguette
21U Provincial Team Award of Excellence _ Zoe Falardeau
Women’s Provincial Team Award of Excellence _ Reese Velocci
Coaches
Rep Coach of The Year 13U & Below _ Carlos Verde
Rep Coach of The Year 14U & Above _ Mark Cheeseman
Select Coach of the Year _ Michael Burko
Umpires
Dick Willis Junior Umpire Of The Year _ Nick Wilton
Dick Willis Senior Umpire Of The Year + Mark Ariss
Don Gilbert Umpire Of The Year _ Chris Walters
Association of the ear
Association of the Year _ SPBA
Executives
Don McKnight Memorial Awards for Affiliate Volunteer of the Year, COBA _ Pierre Lill, The Smith Family, ICBA _ Alberto and Meaghan McGloin
Don McKnight Memorial Award for Affiliate Volunteer of the Year, YSBA _ Jen Novak
Jack Middlemasss Memorial Award, Provincial Volunteer of the Year _ Bill Bouck
Director of the Year _ Aaron Dunlop
President’s Award _ David Huctwith
Provincial Award _ Ron Smith
Commissioners Award _ Wendy Kudeba
Service Awards:
Five Years _ Scott Costello, Ashley Stephenson, Samantha Magalas and Donald Fell.
10 years _ Adel Agar, Adam Bakos, Ron Burns, Paul Chapley, Kaira Bates, Brent Peltola, Robert Murakami, David Lible, Steve Koziel, Chris Walters and Isaac Zywczok.
15 years _ Enza Finnie.
20 Years _ Sean O’Brien, Stephen Gomes, Keith McConkey, David Phillips, Falco Schieda and Matthew Tyler.
25 Years _ Glenn Ostrosser, Dirk Drieberg.