Elliott: 23rd World Wood Bat championship underway at Jupiter
The 23rd Perfect Game World Wood Bat championship — otherwise known as the Golf Cart Derby — is underway in Jupiter, Fla. with 54 Canucks on hand.
October 9, 2021
By Bob Elliott
Canadian Baseball Network
The 100-team Perfect Game World Wood Bat Association is underway in Jupiter, Fla.
This is the 23rd annual event and this year the best grade 12s and grade 11s in North America are gathering at the Roger Dean Complex, which each spring is home to the St. Louis Cardinals and the Miami Marlins.
This year we know of 71 Canadians who have headed south to improve their stock before next summer’s draft or impress a college recruiter -- if they have not already committed.
The Ontario Blue Jays have a 39-player roster coached by Mike Steed (Burlington, Ont.) while Langley Blaze’s Doug Mathieson (Aldergrove, BC) entering a combined team of prospects from Alaska, New York, Hawaii and British Columbia, including 11 Canucks with the Brewers Langley Blaze teams.
Seven players are with NEB National in C Cameron Gurney Scotland, Ont.), RHP-INF Carter Krawchuk (St Catharines, Ont.), RHP Owen Millar (Burlington, Ont.) and INF Nathaniel Ochoa Burlington, Ont.) of the FieldHouse Pirates, plus of the Okotoks Dawgs’ RHP Matthew Grabmann (Dartmouth, NS) and RHP Boston Warkentin (Ladner, BC). and RHP Micah Bucknam (Abbotsford, BC) of the Fraser Valley Cardinals.
There are six Mississauga North Tigers: C Brady Cerkownyk (Toronto, Ont.), INF Taeg Gollert (Toronto, Ont.), RHP Sebastian Khan (Brampton, Ont.), INF Cole Leclair (Toronto, Ont.), LHP Rhys Montgomery (Mississauga, Ont.) and RHP Kaleb Thomas (Hagersville,-Ont.), with Rawlings National Scout Team, plus Ontario Terrier Dylan Oborne (Thornhill, Ont.)
Two Ontario Terriers are in uniform: C Hugh Pinkney (Etobicoke, Ont.) with Team Northeast since he is Rutgers bound and OF Cameron Chee-Aloy is with the Padres Scout Team.
A pair of Ontario Nationals are in the south: Blake Gillespie (Lucan, Ont.) with the Team Elite Braves and LHP Tyler Soucie (Cambridge, Ont.) with the Midland Redskins.
RHP Chase Marshall (Surrey, BC) of the White Rock Tritons is the only Canadian with the Toronto Blue Jays scout team. And Great Lake Canadians LHP Caleb Clark (Orillia, Ont.) is with the Ohio Warhawks.
OF David Alvarez (Woodbridge, Ont.) of Great Lakes is with USA Prime.
Perfect Game’s evaluation of the Canuck and the rosters ...
Pool A
Team Top Pos. Player RK Class Top Pitcher RK Class Location
East Coast Sox Owen Egan 45 2023 Logan Forsythe 259 2022 Columbus, MS
Royals Scout Team 2022 Dondreone Kennedy 104 2023 Caden Marcum 191 2022 Kansas City, MO
Team Mizuno Puerto Rico Jamaliel Rosado 169 2022 Radymir Rivera 500 2022 Caguas, P.R.
Team Northeast Chris Maldonado 154 2022 Nick Biasi 422 2022 Staten Island, N.Y.
Projected Pool Winner: East Coast Sox – Franchise
Dark Horse: Team Northeast
With five of the top six ranked players on this team being primary position guys it will be the bats that this senior lead group will lean on as the look to make some noise and find themselves in the 32-team bracket. With an infield that could look something to the likes of Chris Maldonado and Ryan Weingartner up the middle and Andrew Fischer at the hot corner getting a ball through the infield will be no easy task, not to mention the damage these three can bring to the plate with what is shaping up to be a well-rounded offense with a combination of athleticism and power. On the mound the look for guys like Nick Biasi, Charlie Jones, and Nick Finarelli to pound the zone with all three capable of running the fastball into the low 90s.
Tournament Roster
Ontario Terriers’ C Hugh Pinkney (Etobicoke, Ont.)
No. Name Ht Wt B/T Grad School Hometown Rank Commitment
18 Hugh Pinkney C-OF 6-2 184 L/R 2022 Silverthorn Etobicoke, ON 500 Rutgers
- Colt Olinger
Pool B
Team Top Pos. Player RK Class Top Pitcher RK Class Location
Georgia Bombers Riley Stanford 20 2022 Luke McNeillie 77 2023 Cumming, GA
Ontario Blue Jays Myles Naylor 273 2023 Kansai Sugimoto 500 2022 Mississauga, ON
St Louis Pirates/Cubs Scout Team Edward Phelps III 31 2023 Nicholas Rovitti 163 2024 Chicago, IL
Texas Twelve Blake Mitchell 8 2023 James Ellwanger 469 2023 College Station, TX
Projected Pool Winner: Georgia Bombers
What to Watch For: Young Guns
While most of this tournament is historically dominated by names soon to graduate, this pool is unique in the fact that a lot of high-profile players are on the younger side. Of the aforementioned guys to keep an eye on in the chart, Myles Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.), Edward Phelps lll, Nicholas Rovitti, Blake Mitchell, James Ellwanger, and Luke McNeillie are all 2023 grads or earlier. Let’s not kid ourselves either, these gents aren’t here to mess around as they attempt to make a name for themselves sooner rather than later. The strategic depth of the roster creation from all four teams in this pool mixes experienced prospects with guys just starting to step into the spotlight, making for fun and ultra-competitive matchups.
C Evan Ashe (Acton, Ont.)
Tournament Roster
No. Name Ht Wt B/T Grad School Hometown Rank Commitment
7 Manny Alberto INF 6-0 175 S/R 2022 Aurora, ON Follow McLennan CC
16 Evan Ashe C 5-11 170 R/R 2022 Christ the King Acton, ON Top 1000
11 Evan Bertoia C 6-0 165 L/R 2023 Burlington, ON
19 Max Burroughsford RHP 6-4 190 R/R 2024 Port Dover, ON
30 Makaio Cisneros RHP-OF 6-0 155 R/R 2024 All Saints Whitby, ON
23 Kael Clarkson LHP-1B 6-3 215 R/L 2022 St Josephs Minesing, ON High Follow
17 Jesse Dale C-3B 6-0 170 R/R 2023 Toronto, ON
40 Benicio Diaz C-RHP 6-3 210 R/R 2022 St Joan of Arc Maple, ON High Follow
37 Adrian Dominguez 3B-INF 5-11 170 L/R 2022 St Joan of Arc Vaughan, ON
4 William Easton OF 5-8 165 L/L 2022 Port Dover, ON Follow
2 Alex Ellert INF-RHP 5-8 150 R/R 2022 Martin Collegiate White City, SK Top 1000
44 Heath Hachkowski RHP-1B 6-5 235 R/R 2022 Red Deer, AB Top 1000
13 Lachlan Harrison LHP-1B 6-4 190 L/L 2024 Loyola Catholic Secondary Mississauga, ON
35 Cameron Johnson LHP 6-0 185 L/L 2023 Blyth Academy Burlington, ON
24 Brandon Latter 1B-OF 6-4 225 L/R 2022 Robert F. Hall Catholic Caledon East, ON High Follow
10 Brendan Lawson INF 6-2 185 L/R 2024 Toronto, ON
31 Lawson Leblanc LHP 5-10 170 L/L 2023 Christ the King Georgetown, ON
27 Andrew MacNeil RHP 5-11 170 L/R 2022 Georgetown, ON
32 Ethan Malicki RHP 6-3 185 R/R 2022 Oakville, ON
34 Matt Marzec RHP 6-3 185 R/R 2022 Nelson Burlington, ON High Follow
16 John McDonald RHP 5-11 150 R/R 2023 Mississauga, ON
6 Corey Morro INF 5-8 180 L/R 2022 Cheltenham, ON High Follow
22 Myles Naylor INF-OF 6-1 195 R/R 2023 St Joan of Arc Mississauga, ON 272 Texas Tech
17 Cole Patrick OF 6-2 190 R/R 2022 Markham District Markham, ON Top 1000
23 Eli Press RHP 6-2 180 R/R 2023 Toronto, ON
9 Matthew Sargeant INF-RHP 6-1 185 R/R 2023 Ancaster Ancaster, ON Top 1000
8 Robert Savely OF 6-2 160 L/R 2024 Mississauga, ON
41 Isaiah Scott 3B 5-11 175 L/R 2023 Lorne Park Secondary Mississauga, ON High Follow
36 Dylan Shepherd C 5-10 190 L/R 2022 Barrie, ON
15 Jackson Somerville OF 6-0 190 R/R 2022 Nelson Burlington, ON Follow
RHP Kansai Sugimoto (Mississauga, Ont.)
21 Kansai Sugimoto RHP 6-2 205 L/R 2022 Clarkson Secondary Mississauga, ON 500 Yavapai College
12 Quinn Tavares RHP 6-1 185 R/R 2022 St. Martin’s Mississauga, ON Top 1000 Eastern Oklahoma State College
14 Jeff Tiw RHP-INF 6-2 200 R/R 2022 Burlington, ON High Follow
8 Jorge Valdes OF 5-10 152 L/L 2024 Bishop Reding Milton, ON High Follow
25 Lucas Vincent OF 5-10 190 R/R 2022 Bill Crothers Stouffville, ON High Follow
43 Dylin Walters 1B 6-3 215 R/R 2023 Toronto, ON
13 Liam Watt LHP 6-3 180 L/L 2022 Nelson Burlington, ON Follow LSU-Eunice
10 Sam White 3B-C 5-11 195 L/R 2022 Aurora, ON Follow West Virginia
33 James Wilson RHP 6-4 195 R/R 2022 Humberside C.I. Toronto, ON High Follow
20 Wil Yamka LHP 6-2 195 R/L 2022 Holy Trinity Catholic Oakville, ON
- AJ Denny
Pool E
Team Top Pos. Player RK Class Top Pitcher RK Class Location
5 Star National-Black Riley Jackson 25 2023 Connor Crisp 108 2023 Warner Robins, GA
Iowa Select 2022 Gable Mitchell 500 2022 Aaron Savary 500 2022 Cedar Rapids, IA
Sandlot Scout Team 2022 Jackson Lovich 500 2022 Kade Shatwell 365 2022 Tulsa, OK
Toronto Blue Jays Scout Team Aidan Miller 3 2023 Wesley Mendes 13 2023 Toronto, ON
RHP Chase Marshall (Surrey, BC) of the White Rock Tritons.
Toronto Blue Jays Scout Team
Tournament Roster
No. Name Ht Wt B/T Grad School Hometown Rank Commitment
16 Chase Marshall RHP 1B 6-3 210 R/R 2022 Earl Marriott Surrey, BC 500 Washington
- Jason Phillips
Pool H
Team Top Pos. Player RK Class Top Pitcher RK Class Location
ECB/Padres Scout Team Michael Gupton 33 2022 Sullivan Brackin 136 2022 Marietta, GA
LVR/TB SoCal Dean Curley 173 2022 Cole Stokes 91 2022 Las Vegas, NV
Rawlings National Scout Team CJ Richard 302 2023 Riley Henfling 500 2023 Long Island, NY
Stix 2022 Scout Steven Milam 40 2023 Owen Proksch 500 2022 Grapevine, TX
Projected Pool Winner: ECB/Padres Scout Team
Rawlings National
Tournament Roster
No. Name Ht Wt B/T Grad School Hometown Rank Commitment
Brady Cerkownyk C-1B 6-1 195 R/R 2022 Richview Collegiate Institute Toronto, ON
Taeg Gollert INF-RHP 6-2 200 R/R 2022 Humberside C.I. Toronto, ON High Follow
Sebastian Khan RHP 6-1 195 R/R 2022 David Suzuki Brampton, ON High Follow
Cole Leclair INF 6-2 195 L/R 2023 Upper Canada College Toronto, ON 500
Rhys Montgomery LHP 6-5 215 L/L 2022 Our Lady of Mount Carmel Mississauga, ON High Follow Connors State College
Dylan Oborne RHP-INF 6-2 200 R/R 2022 Westmount Collegiate Institute Pompano Beach, FL/Thornhill, ON 500 Florida Atlantic
Kaleb Thomas RHP-INF 6-0 190 R/R 2023 Hagersville, ON 500
- Drew Wesolowski
Pool I
Team Top Pos. Player RK Class Top Pitcher RK Class Location
Elite Squad 2022 Manuelle Marin 38 2024 Player Crosby 500 2023 Pembroke Pines, FL
Ohio Warhawks Nolan Souza 55 2023 Landen Maroudis 65 2023 Fairborn, OH Team Elite Prime Nicolas Senese 302 2022 Brandon Fears 500 2022 Winder, GA
Trosky National 2022 Ely Kennel 151 2022 Mason McGwire 72 2022 Los Angeles, CA
Projected Pool Winner: Ohio Warhawks
Tournament Roster
Ohio Warhawks
Caleb Clark LHP 1B 6-2 195 L/L 2022 Orillia Secondary School Orillia, ON 500 Nebraska
- Kyler Peterson
Pool L
Team Top Pos. Player RK Class Top Pitcher RK Class Location
San Diego Padres Scout Team Max Williams 122 2022 Christian Foutch 147 2022 San Diego, CA
South Charlotte Panthers Logan Wagner 178 2022 Eli Jerzembeck 62 2022 Charlotte, NC
SWFL 2022 Nation Logan Smith 500 2022 David “Quaid” Goff T1000 2022 Fort Myers, FL
Team Georgia National Cooper Milford 169 2023 Griffin Graves 143 2023 Alpharetta, GA
San Diego Padres Scout Team
Tournament Roster
No. Name Ht Wt B/T Grad School Hometown Rank Commitment
2 Cameron Chee-Aloy OF 6-0 175 R/R 2023 Neil McNeil Toronto, ON 452
- Todd Coffey
Pool M
Team Top Pos. Player RK Class Top Pitcher RK Class Location
643 DP Baseball Academy Jake Streeter 500 2022 Ryan Wideman 500 2022 Marietta, GA
Chicago Scouts Association Gavin Kilen 29 2022 Julien Hachem 305 2022 Chicago, IL
Stars Baseball-Carroll Griffin Stieg 213 2022 Jack O’Connor 93 2022 Manassas, VA
USA Prime Antonio Anderson 10 2023 Calvert Clark 101 2022 Carrolton, TX
Projected Pool Winner: USA Prime 2022 National
Tournament Roster
USA Prime
No. Name Ht Wt B/T Grad School Hometown Rank Commitment
David Alvarez OF 6-1 180 L/R 2022 Woodbridge, ON
- Craig Cozart
Pool O
Team Top Pos. Player RK Class Top Pitcher RK Class Location
Alpha Prime 2022 Nolan Stevens 23 2023 Aidan Keenan 35 2023 San Anselmo, CA
Midland Redskins Andrew Edrington 398 2023 JoJo Overbeek 292 2024 Batavia, OH
Next Level Titans Michael O’Shaughnessy 500 2022 Jake Moss 500 2022 Mineola, NY
Texas Rangers Scout Team Giovanni Colasante 79 2022 Benjamin Abeldt 215 2022 Arlington, TX
Projected Pool Winner: Alpha Prime 2022
Midland Redkins
Tournament Roster
No. Name Ht Wt B/T Grad School Hometown Rank Commitment
Jackson Soucie LHP 6-4 220 L/L 2022 St Benedict Catholic Secondary Cambridge, ON Top 1000
- Tyler Russo
Pool T
Team Top Pos. Player RK Class Top Pitcher RK Class Location
East Cobb Yankees Jared Jones 24 2022 Ryan McTighe 500 2022 Marrietta, GA
MLB Breakthrough Series 2022 Termarr Johnson 2 2022 Jaden Noot 36 2022 Vero Beach, FL
NEB National Hunter Carns 98 2024 Dakota Stone 114 2022 Littleton, MA
Slammers Baseball 2022 Dylan Carey 500 2022 Ethan Lewis 500 2022 Englewood, CO
Projected Pool Winner: MLB Breakthrough Series 2022
Dark Horse: NEB National
The depth and toughness of this roster stands out. There are players from all over the country, and Canada, that have competed against the very best over the last four years. They will not back down. Micah Bucknam (Abbotsford, BC), Dakota Stone, and Eliakim Stowe have all the arm talent needed to take down the top lineups in the event when they are going well. Manny Ramirez (yes, the son of) , Elijah Dukes and Alex Irizarry give the lineup a dynamic look as well. They have all the ingredients to grind out late inning wins and the depth to put together a deep run. It would not be all that surprising if that was to happen if they get out of pool play.
NEB National
Tournament Roster
No. Name Ht Wt B/T Grad School Hometown Rank Commitment
52 Micah Bucknam RHP 6-2 190 R/R 2022 Mennonite Educational Institute Abbotsford, BC 161 Louisiana State
5 Matthew Grabmann RHP-INF 6-1 200 S/R 2022 Foothills Composite Dartmouth, NS 500 Oregon
9 Cameron Gurney C-INF 6-0 210 L/R 2022 Pauline Johnson Collegiate Vocational Scotland, ON Follow Utah
15 Carter Krawchuk RHP-INF 6-1 170 R/R 2022 St. Francis Catholic SS St Catharines, ON Follow Purdue
11 Owen Millar RHP 6-3 220 R/R 2022 Frank J. Hayden Burlington, ON 500 16 Nathaniel Ochoa INF 6-4 210 R/R 2022 Notre Dame Burlington, ON Top 1000
30 Boston Warkentin RHP 6-2 200 R/R 2022 Foothills Composite Ladner, BC Follow Washington
- Jered Goodwin
Pool V
Team Top Pos. Player RK Class Top Pitcher RK Class Location
Baseball U Prospects Wyatt Peifer 500 2022 Blake Dickerson 193 2023 Howell, NJ
CBA Marlins Manoah Chapman 270 2023 Jesse Gutierrez HF 2022 Fresno, CA
Dulin’s Dodgers Cade McGarrh 129 2022 Zach Erdman 500 2022 McKinney, TX
Team Elite/Atlanta Braves Scout Nolan Schubart 26 2022 Matthew Hoskins 108 2022 Atlanta, GA
Team Elite/Atlanta Braves
Tournament roster
18 Blake Gillespie RHP-OF 6-1 180 S/R 2022 Medway Secondary Lula, GA 500 Georgia
- Isaiah Burrows
Pool Y
Team Top Pos. Player RK Class Top Pitcher RK Class Location
Brewers Langley Blaze Devin Taylor 128 2022 Zeph Arnold 278 2022 Vancouver, BC
Canes Florida 18u Prime Sebastian Pisacreta 322 2023 Logan Plasencia 229 2022 Vero Beach, FL
Dallas Tigers Jayson Jones 5 2022 Trenton Shaw 80 2022 Dallas, TX
Richmond Braves 18u Platinum Jacob Kendro 500 2022 Levi Huesman 81 2022 Richmond, VA
Projected Pool Winner: Dallas Tigers
Dark Horse: Brewers Langley Blaze
The team from British Columbia has assembled an intriguing roster from all over North America for Jupiter. They will have players from Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, New York, British Columbia and Ontario among other places. Devin Taylor is a well-known talent on the position player side that will be the main guy to watch for this squad. Hayden Miller and McKay Whitaker are also key bats in this lineup. They have strong pitching depth lead by Louisiana RHP Zeph Arnold and he is followed up with Washington commit Zacary Tenn and 2023 Louisville commit Colton Hartman.
Brewers Langley Blaze
Tournament Roster
No. Name Ht Wt B/T Grad School Hometown Rank Commitment
6 Ayden Hadley C 6-0 215 L/R 2022 Langley, BC
21 Ty Hamilton OF-LHP 6-3 195 L/L 2023 Orleans, ON Top 1000
53 Owen Harriott LHP 6-4 235 L/L 2022 Red Deer County, Alta.
5 Asher Herbert C-2B 5-8 170 L/R 2023 Ecole Alpha Burnaby, BC
Cauxhall’s RHP Anson McGorman (Parksville, BC)
3 Nathan Kirkpatrick INF 5-11 172 R/R 2022 Langley Secondary School Surrey, BC
20 Aidan Malish OF-1B 6-1 195 L/R 2022 Kelowna Secondary School Kelowna, BC Follow Cloud County CC
52 Anson McGorman RHP 6-2 200 L/R 2022 Parksville, BC
45 Jacob Sedun RHP 6-5 200 R/R 2022 Langley, BC
27 Sam Shaw INF-OF 5-10 175 L/R 2023 Lambrick Park Academy Victoria, BC Top 1000 Xavier
33 Reece Usselman LHP 6-3 175 R/L 2023 Langley Secondary School Langley, BC
- Joe Saunders