Elliott: Johnson CBN POY, leads 2019 all-Canadian college team

Former St. James A’s hurler Ryan Johnson (Winnipeg, Man.) has been voted the Canadian Baseball Network’s college Player of the Year. Photo: Lubbock Christian University Athletics

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

Some might call it Ground Hog Day.

All over again.

We’ve been compiling these Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian college teams -- the best of those who play the majority of their schedules south of the border -- for 20 seasons now.

As the number of Canucks grew from 490 in Year I to 780 last spring -- we had never, ever had a unanimous choice until 2016.

This year we asked the voters to examine the best collegians ... it was like a repeat ... almost:

Again it was a left-handed starter who dominated.

Again the starter was from the same school.

LHP Ryan Johnson (Winnipeg, Man.) and his numbers drew the attention of the majority of voters. Johnson went 13-2 for the Lubbock Christian Chaps this spring. Besides earning a spot on the Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian college team, he was named to the First Team when he earned first place on 54 of 59 ballots.

The other Lubbock Christian Chaps pitcher to win the CBN’s college Player of the Year was LHP Guillaume Blanchette (St-Constant, Que.) in 2016.

LHP Guillaume Blanchette (St-Constant, Que.) of Lubbock Christian, won in 2016, the first to ever bat 1.000, collecting 51 of 51 first-place votes.

It’s only the second time a player from the same school has earned Canadian Baseball Network Player of the Year honors: DH Edouard Julien (Quebec City, Que.) last year and 1B Karl Amonite (Woodslee, Ont.) in 2005 both won as Auburn Tigers.

Johnson’s 13 wins led all Canadians -- four more than Indiana State’s Tyler Whitbread (Camlachie, Ont.) and Northwest Florida State State’s Jacob Kush (Guelph, Ont.) who had nine wins each.

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Johnson earned a spot on the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-America Second Team as well as being recognized on the National Collegiate Baseball Writer’s Association (NCBWA) All-America Third Team and Alexander was a Third Team All-America selection by the Division II Conference Commissioners’ Association (D2CCA). He was also the first LCU All-American since Blanchette in 2016.

Johnson was overpowering his senior season for LCU posting a 2.56 earned run average in 106 1/3 innings spread across 16 starts. He went 13-2 on the year, including 13 straight wins at one point to set a new LCU program record. The left-hander also notched 117 strikeouts, which was the most in a single season by an LCU pitcher since 2012 when Tyler Rogers struck out 122 batters.

Johnson pitched eight complete games and held opponents to a .217 average during the year. He was a unanimous First Team All-South Central Region selection, receiving those accolades from the NCBWA, the D2CCA and the ABCA. Following his collegiate season, he moved into the pro ranks with the Winnipeg Goldeyes of the independent American Association.


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Our voters included … 16 writers -- including 11 Canadian Baseball Network scribes -- 13 coaches from elite programs and five colleges on both sides of the border; 14 scouts, 11 executives, four ex-players and two radio broadcasters.

Our electorate came from six different provinces and 13 states. Voting was done on a 5-3-1 basis.

The ballot gathering process moved quicker thanks to Kevin Wall (Richmond Hill, Ont.) also known as Jason Bourne, for his secret ways of gathering numbers and Day 1 man George Farelli (Toronto, Ont.)

As always IF you failed to turn in your ballot you have lost the right to complain.

This year Ontario led the way with five players on the First Team, followed by Alberta and Quebec with two each. A good sign was — in fact a rarity — was representation from six provinces. One each was elected from Manitoba, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, in addition to Ontario. Alberta and Quebec,

And now on with the best of the 780 Canadians playing the majority of their schedules south of the border …

To view the statistics of the 2019 CBN All-Canadian team members, click on this link.

Former St. James A’s hurler Ryan Johnson (Winnipeg, Man.) earned Canadian Baseball Network Player of the Year as well as a spot on the CBN’s First Team.

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First Team

Left-hander _ Ryan Johnson (Winnipeg, Man.) Lubbock Christian Chaps.

The spring of 2019 began with a scoreless outing (seven innings) in a win against Cameron followed by wins against Angelo State (one run allowed in seven), MSU Denver (one run in seven), St. Mary’s (two runs in seven), St. Edward’s (one run in seven), Texas A&M International (seven scoreless), Arkansas-Fort Smith (one in seven), Newman (three in seven), Oklahoma Christian (three in seven), St. Edward’s (three in six), Texas A&M International (two in four), Rogers State (one in seven) and St. Mary’s (zero in seven).

His final two starts ended his 13-0 run as he gave up two earned runs against St. Edward’s and eight facing Rogers State in 6 1/3 innings. Four times he struck out 10 or more.

If Johnson appeared a slam-dunk, lead-pipe cinch it was because he led all Canadians in wins with 13 -- four more than RHP Tyler Whitbread (Camlachie, Ont.) of Indiana State and RHP Jacob Kush (Guelph, Ont.) of Northwest Florida State. He also led in innings with 106 1/3 ahead of LHP Niall Windeler (Toronto, Ont.) of British Columbia, who had 94 1/3 and RHP Logan Hofmann (Muenster, Sask.) who pitched 89 2/3 for Colby.

And Johnson’s 117 strikeouts ranked third behind Hofmann, who had 128 and RHP Matt Brash (Kingston, Ont.) of Niagara, who registered 121.

The 6-foot-5. 216 pounder pitched for Crowder College his freshman season (2011) and Southern Idaho as a sophomore (2013). At Crowder he was a two-way player, hitting .333 with 28 RBIs and helped Crowder to the NJCAA World Series. At Southern Idaho he made 15 appearances and (14 starts) and went 6-7 with a 3.18 ERA. He struck out 52 batters in 68 innings, while holding opponents to a .193 average.

After red shirting in 2017 at LCU, the next spring he gained All-Heartland Conference Second Team honours and was named to the South Central Region Watch List by College Baseball News. Johnson led Chap starting pitchers with an ERA of 3.30 in 79 innings of work, going 6-5 in 13 starts with four complete games holding opponents to a .206 average.

The former St. James A’s, Weyburn Beaver and member of the Manitoba Junior Team played for coaches Dave Sellner and Phil Curtis.

Former Kingston Thunder Matt Brash (Kingston, Ont. - Canada’s first capital)

Right-hander _ Matt Brash (Kingston, Ont.) Niagara Purple Eagles.

Brash went 4-5 on the mound for the Purple Eagles in what was a phenomenal season, as in 14 starts, he set the Niagara single-season strikeout record with 121 (the number led the MAAC, was 10th in the NCAA). He walked only 29 in 85 1/4 innings and finished with a 2.43 ERA, the best in the MAAC second-best in NU history.

Brash was second among Canucks in strikeouts, seven behind Colby’s Logan Hofmann (Muenster, Sask.) and four ahead of Lubbock Christian’s Ryan Johnson (Winnipeg, Man.). He was second highest in innings pitched with 85 1/3 innings, three behind Williams Woods’ Taran Oulton (St. Albert, Alta.).

Niagara’s Brash held his opponents to an impressive .194 batting average, which led all MAAC pitchers. He tossed three complete games in 2019, two of which were shutouts, and was a two-time MAAC Pitcher of the Week honouree.

Brash earned Mid-Atlantic Pitcher of the Year and was named to the All-MAAC First Team. He is Niagara’s first-ever MAAC Pitcher of the Year and was selected 2019 Google Cloud Academic All-District District 1 First Team. The Google award was for performance on the mound and in class, for as a sport management major, he has maintained a grade point average of 3.67.

Other Canucks to make the MAAC All-Academic Team, 3.2 GPA were RHP Cameron Dyck (Oakville, Ont.), LHP Alexandre Jones (Bowmanville, Ont.), RHP Alex MacKinnon (Aurora, Ont.), RHP Jordan Parranto (Sherwood Park, Alta.), RHP Kyle Smyth (Whitby, Ont.) and C Joseph Tevlin (Toronto, Ont.).

Brash played for the Kingston Thunder and Bayridge Blazers under coach Randy Casford.

Former Ontario Blue Jays RP Billy Brand (Burlington, Ont.), right.

Reliever _ Billy Brand (Burlington, Ont.) of the Point Skyhawks.

As a peewee Brand was likely the smallest player on his Burlington Bulls team. As a college player ... well he “growed up good” as they say on the farm. At 6-foot-3, Brand led all Canucks with 11 saves, one more than Jarrod Manick (Aldergrove, BC) of the McPherson Bulldogs.

Brand led the pitching staff with a 1.52 ERA and recorded 31 strikeouts and six walks in 29 2/3 innings. He led the conference and ranked fourth in the NAIA with 11 saves in 22 total appearances and gave up just eight runs and five earned runs all season. Opponents hit .181 against Brand.

He had saves against Pikeville (two), Toccoa Falls, Auburn-Montgomery, Mobile. Albany State, Talladega, Montreat (two), Milligan and St. Andrews. His two wins were against Union and Faulkner. Brand received Appalachian Athletic Conference first team honours as a relief pitcher and second team honours as a starter.

Brand pitched for the Ontario Blue Jays and coach Mike Steed.

Ex-LaSalle Cardinals C Archer Brookman (Pointe-Claire, Que.)

Catcher _ Archer Brookman (Pointe-Claire, Que.) of the Seminole State (OK) Trojans.

Bookman hit .343 with 16 doubles, six triples, 11 homers and 51 RBIs, while amassing a 1.070 OPS in 53 games. His six triples were tied for second among Canadians with Clarendon’s Deric Lamontagne (Saint-Amable, Que.), two behind Tristan Peters (Winkler, Man.).

Some of his better games included three-hit outings facing Grayson County (with a double and three RBIs), Murray State (double, homer, two RBIs), Coffeyville, Arkansas Baptist (two doubles, two RBIs), Rose State (triple, homer, four RBIs), Cowley (triple), Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (double, three RBIs) and Connors State (two triples, one RBI).

And then there were two-hit games against Crowder (homer, two RBIs), Murray State (triple), Arkansas Baptist, Eastern Oklahoma State (double), Carl Albert State (homer, three RBIs), Connors State (double, RBI), Arkansas Baptist (triple, three RBIs), Hutchinson (homer, two RBIs), Eastern Oklahoma State, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (two homers, four RBIs), Connors State (homer, three RBIs) and Connors State (two doubles, one RBI).

Brookman, who played for the LaSalle Cardinals and coach Eric Infante and the ABC for Bob Fatal, earned Canadian Baseball Network honourable mention honours in 2018.

Former Okotoks Dawgs Matt Lloyd (Okotoks, Alta.)

First base _ Matt Lloyd (Okotoks, Alta.) Indiana Hooisers.

Lloyd batted .280 for the Hoosiers with 15 doubles, 17 homers and knocked in 59, while putting up a .963 OPS in 59 games. Among Canadian hitters, he ranked third in home runs, five behind Western Kentucky’s Jake Sanford (Cole Harbour, NS) and seven back of Bellevue’s JT Patterson (Calgary, Alta.).

During the season Lloyd had a four-hit game against Canisius (with two RBIs) and three hit games against Memphis (two doubles, two RBIs), Maryland in a pair of games (10 RBIs, two doubles, four homers), Louisville (RBI double), Evansville (RBI double) and Michigan State (RBI).

As well, he had two-hit efforts against Coastal Carolina (RBI), Washington (double), San Diego (two RBIs), Canisius, Michigan State (RBI double), Evansville (two doubles), Evansville (double, homer three RBIs), Ball State (two RBIs, double), Michigan State (RBI double), Illinois (RBI double), Michigan (home run, four RBIs), Rutgers and Louisville (RBI double).

Lloyd, who played for the Okotoks Dawgs and coach Allen Cox, earned Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian team First Team honours at DH in 2016 and 2017 and was a Third Team member in 2018. As a reliever he picked up Second Team honors in 2018, First Team in 2017.

Former Les Diamants de Québec 2B Edouard Julien (Quebec City, Que.)

Second base _ Edouard Julien (Quebec City, Que.) Auburn Tigers.

Julien was down from his 2018 numbers when he was a DH. Playing every game he hit .258 with 14 doubles, a triple, 10 homers and 57 RBIs. He had an .841 OPS starting 65 games for Josh Donaldson’s former school. While his numbers dipped, he led the team in home runs and RBIs for the second straight season. His 126 RBIs in the last two seasons are the most in the SEC during that span. He reached 100 career RBIs in his 94th career game, becoming the fifth fastest Auburn player to reach 100 behind Tim Hudson (78 games), former Blue Jays No. 1 pick Gabe Gross (86), Hall of Famer Frank Thomas (89) and Todd Faulkner (90).

Julien went 2-for-3 with two RBIs in the season opener against Georgia Southern, then was 5-for-13 with four runs, a double, home run and six RBIs in the series and turned in his first career multi-home run game against Alabama A&M. He was 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs against UT Martin, capping off a stretch of five home runs in the first 11 games and drove in the game-tying and go-ahead runs in the eighth of a sweep-clinching win against Tennessee.

Julien knocked in a season-high four runs and homered in the series opener facing Ole Miss and collected a pair of hits in back-to-back games against Alabama and UAB. He was named to the SEC All-Tournament Team for the second straight season after going 3-for-10 with three RBIs in three games and led the team with a .429 average (12-for-28) in eight NCAA tournament games. He had two home runs with nine RBIs …

He earned a berth on the Atlanta Regional All-Tournament Team going 5-for-12 with a home run and six RBIs in the Chapel Hill Super Regional as he hit a three-run home run to cap off Auburn’s comeback win in the super regional opener against the Tar Heels. He drove in a pair of runs to spark Auburn’s 13-run first inning in the decisive game three in Chapel Hill. He was 4-for-6 and reached in six of eight plate appearances at the College World Series with a homer and three RBIs in the Omaha opener against Mississippi State. The home run was tied for the longest in TD Ameritrade Park history at 429 feet.

Julien, who played for Les Diamants de Québec and coach Dominik Walsh, earned Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian Player of the Year in 2018 and was honoured as First Team at the DH spot.

Okotoks Dawgs grad JT Patterson (Okotoks, Alta.)

Third base _ JT Patterson (Calgary, Alta.) Bellevue Bruins.

Patterson hit .367 with 83 hits -- including 13 doubles, a triple and 24 homers -- 91 RBIs. He had a 1.219 OPS in 64 games. He led all Canucks with 91 RBIs, six more than Connors State’s David Mendham (Dorchester, Ont.).

He was homerless in Bellevue’s first six games and then hit 24 in the next 57. On three separate occasions, he hit three home runs in a single game: in back-to-back games against Valley City State and Dakota State as well as facing Waldorf. He become the first NAIA player to record three three-home run games in a single season. In all, he went deep against: Valley City State (five times), Dakota State (four), Waldorf (four), Midland (three), Presentation (two), Texas A&M-Texarkana, Spring Arbor, Madonna, Mayville State, Peru State and Columbia Mo. In addition to his three-homer games, he had two home runs against Midland and Valley City in the NSAA championship Game.

Patterson led the Bruins to a 48-16 record and 23-1 mark in NSAA play. The Bruins closed the year by winning 41 of their final 44 games en route to earning the program’s 14th Avista NAIA World Series appearance.

Patterson had 38 extra-base hits, including a BU-record total of home runs (24) and another Bruin single-season record of RBIs (91). In conference play, he owned a .933 OPS in 24 games, as 13 of his 19 extra-base hits were home runs. He totaled 52 RBIs against league foes.

Patterson was named the Midlands Athlete of the Year by the Omaha World-Herald. He beat four finalists from the state including; Ryan Garver (Nebraska Wesleyan, hoops, first team NCAA Div. III All-American), Lyle Hexon (Peru State, hoops, first team NAIA Div. I All-American), Matt Malcolm (Nebraska-Kearney, wrestling, NCAA Div. II National Champion), and Drew Smith (Northeast CC, baseball, first team NJCAA Div. II All-American).

He earned first team NAIA All-American and the North Star Athletic Association Player of the Year. He picked up a myriad of awards: Omaha World-Herald, Omaha World-Herald NAIA All-Nebraska Honorary Captain, Omaha World-Herald NAIA All-Nebraska, First team NAIA All-American, first team ABCA/Rawlings All-American, NSAA Player of the Year, First team all-NSAA, NSAA Gold Glove and three-time NSAA Player of the Week honours.

Patterson, who played for the Okotoks Dawgs and Allen Cox, earned Canadian Baseball Network honourable mention in 2018.

Vauxhall Jets grad Blake Gallagher (Fredericton, NB) of the Colby Trojans.

Shortstop _ Blake Gallagher (Fredericton, NB) Colby Trojans.

Add Gallagher to the name of Canucks who have gone to Colby and then gone on to great success. He batted .324 with 18 doubles, two triples, 10 home runs and 43 RBIs in 57 games with a 1.060 OPS.

He had a four-hit game against Coffeyville (four RBIs). Gallagher had two-hit games against Midland (with a double), New Mexico Military Institute three times (six hits, three RBIs, three doubles, triple), Indian Hills twice (two hits, including a double), Cloud County twice (four hits), Dodge City (RBI double), Hutchinson twice (double), Pratt twice (double, two RBIs) and Coffeyville.

Gallagher, who gained All-Region VI honours first team selection, played for coach Les McTavish of the Vauxhall Academy Jets and Steve Donahue of the Atlantic Team.

Dartmouth Arrows alum Jake Sanford (Cole Harbour, NS).

Outfielders _ Jake Sanford (Cole Harbour, NS) Western Kentucky Hilltoppers; Nick Howie (Oakville, Ont.) Eastern Kentucky Colonels and Noah Myers (Wyoming, Ont.) Wabash Valley Warriors.

Sanford batted .398 for the Hilltoppers with 20 doubles, two triples, 22 homers and 66 RBIs. He owned a 1,288 OPS in 56 games. Sanford was second among all Canadian hitters (.24 points behind David Mendham (Dorchester, Ont.), second in hits (six behind Mendham) and second in home runs (two behind Calgary’s JT Patterson). The Canadian college player who had the best year? Many would say it was Sanford. The former McCook JUCO walk on went in the third round by New York Yankees scouting director Damon Oppenheimer and was given a $597,500 signing bonus.

Sanford was named 2018-19 Michael L. Slive Conference USA Male Athlete of the Year as he put together one of the best campaigns in WKU program history. He set records, accumulated multiple All-American accolades and earned C-USA Player of the Year honors. He became the first regular-season Triple Crown winner in the league’s 24-year history. He led all Division I hitters with a .805 slugging percentage, and ranked second with 178 total bases and tied for sixth with 22 home runs when the Hilltoppers’ season ended.

In March he became the first Hilltopper in 13 years (Jordon Newton in 2006) to hit a homerun in four consecutive games. He also became only the third player in league history to earn back-to-back C-USA Hitter of the Week honors. His 106 total bases in 30 league games, established a new C-USA record, surpassing Ryan Jones, who had 103 in 2004.

In addition to being voted C-USA Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and a First Team outfielder, Sanford racked up numerous national postseason accolades. The ABCA, the NCBWA, Perfect Game/Rawlings, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, D1Baseball.com and 11Point7: named him a First Team All-American. Baseball America listed him as a Second Team All-American.

In addition, he was as a semifinalist for the 2019 Dick Howser Trophy. At the 2019 WKU TOPSY awards, he was awarded the John O. Oldham Male Student-Athlete of the Year and won Best Male Record-Breaking Performance for hitting 14 home runs in March.

Sanford, who played with the Dartmouth Moosehead Dry, Nova Scotia Selects 17U, Dartmouth Juniors, Dartmouth Arrows and Cole Harbour Cardinals for coaches Jon Olsen, Bob Gillis, Jason Davis, Kevin Richardson, Pat Westhaver, Johnny Schrider, Joe Hicks, Danny Fraser and Andrew Boyd, earned Canadian Baseball Network honourable mention in 2018.

Ontario Blue Jays alum Nick Howie (Oakville, Ont.)

Howie hit .353 with 12 doubles, 11 homers and 45 RBIs compiling a 1.031 OPS in 59 games. He was 16-for-23 in steal attempts. Howie was third in the Ohio Valley Conference with a .474 on-base mark, third in walks (46), fifth in average (.353) and tied for fifth in stolen bases (16th). Over all, he ranked 43rd in the nation in walks and 47th in on-base percentage. With the Colonels he led the team in batting average, games played and started all 59 games.

Some of his best games included three home runs and eight RBIs while finishing 3-for-4 against Kentucky State, going 3-for-4 with four RBIs at Northern Kentucky, a 2-for-4 day with three RBIs at Southeast Missouri and three times he walked three times in a game, as he lived up to his preseason All-OVC selection by coaches and communications directors, Rawlings and Perfect Game.

He earned a berth on first team All-Ohio Valley Conference as well as first team 2019 Google Cloud Academic All-America® as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and earned Google Cloud Academic All-District Team.

Howie won the Ohio Valley Conference Medal of Honor, given annually to the student-athlete who achieves the highest GPA in a conference-sponsored sport and he earned a spot on the Ohio Valley Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll.

Howie, who played for the Ontario Blue Jays and coaches Sean Travers, Danny Bleiwas and Mike Steed, earned Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian Second Team honours in 2018 and honourable mention in 2017.

Great Lake Canadians alum Noah Myers (Wyoming, Ont.).

Myers was a tad different than the others. Like when was the last time we wrote about a player stealing more than 70 bases in a single season -- unless it was Tim Raines of course. Myers hit .397 with 18 doubles, a triple, eight homers and drove in 60 runs running up a 1.044 OPS in 59 games. And oh yes, he went 77-for-78 stealing bases. Myers was instrumental in Wabash Valley going 49-1 to win the Great Rivers Athletic Conference. Myers led all Canucks with his 77 steals. Jefferson’s Matt Turino (Toronto, Ont.) was second with 30, followed by Charleston’s Gianfranco Morello (Toronto, Ont.), who stole 29 bases.

Some of his better days included: stealing three bases in a doubleheader against Wallace State, going 2-for-9 with two RBIs, stole another bag against Volunteer State, collecting a hit and scoring three, knocking in a pair with a triple against Jefferson and stealing a bag, against Dyersburg State, swiping five after getting a base hit and two walks against Moraine Valley, he had a two-run double and two steals, facing Lincoln Trail, doubled and stole two bases, then went 3-for-5 with three steals in the nightcap.

Against Southwestern Illinois, he stole five bases, had an RBI double in a doubleheader, facing Frontier he doubled, singled and stole a base and then in the same series, he knocked in a run on two hits. Going against Kaskaskia he homered, doubled and drove in three, he had three hits and three walks against Lake Land, coming around to score five times, as well as pilfering four bags and scoring twice facing Lake Land, he homered against Shawnee as part of a three-hit attack knocking in three, against Rend Lake, he had three hits including a double), two RBIs, six stolen bases, drove in three with a double, single and stolen base to beat Southeastern Illinois and then homered in back-to-back games against Southeastern Illinois, doubled twice playing Spoon River, stealing two en route to scoring three runs, stole three and singled in a run against Vincennes, against Parkland he had three hits and an RBI in five trips and wound up the season in a three-game set against John A. Logan, going 6-for-14 with a double, four RBIs and four stolen bases.

Myers is a graduate of the Great Lake Canadians where he played for coaches Chris Robinson, Jeff Helps, Shane Davis and Adam Stern.

Former Ontario Blue Jay Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.)

DH _ Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.) Mineral Area Cardinals.

Hicks batted .440 with 19 doubles, 14 homers and 56 RBIs. He had a stunning 1.374 OPS in 49 games.

His best outing was a 4-for-4 game in a win over Shawnee as he hit a solo homer. As well, he had a three-hit outings facing Nunez (homer, four RBIs), Crowley’s Ridge (two doubles, three RBIs), Crowder (RBI), North Central Missouri (double, three RBIs) and St. Louis (double).

He had two hit-games against at Snead State (with a double, homer, three RBIs), Bevill State (double), Nunez (two homers, three RBIs), State Fair (solo homer), Hannibal Lagrange (homer, four RBIs), Hannibal Lagrange (two doubles, six RBIs), Crowder (RBI), St. Charles (two homers, three RBIs), St. Louis, St. Louis (RBI), St. Louis (double, two RBIs), Jefferson (MO), Metropolitan, Three Rivers (double, RBI), Three Rivers, North Central Missouri (double, RBI) and State Fair (double, solo homer),

Hicks earned Honourable Mention All-American honours by the NJCAA, the first baseball Cardinal to ever be so acknowledged. Hicks had a .567 on-base percentage. He was named Region 16 Player of the Year.

An Ontario Blue Jays grad, Hicks played for Mike Steed and Shawn Travers.

Former Toronto Met LHP Niall Windeler (Toronto, Ont.) of the UBC Thunderbirds.

Second Team

Left-hander _ Niall Windeler (Toronto, Ont.) British Columbia Thunderbirds.

Windeler made 14 appearances for UBC -- 13 starts -- going 5-3 with a 3.93 ERA. He walked 26 and struck out 101 in 87 innings.

Windeler whiffed an NAIA West-leading 99 hitters in conference play. His highlight came when he tossed the Thunderbirds’ first-ever solo nine-inning no hitter against Oregon Tech, earning NAIA Pitcher of the Week recognition.

He had wins over Lewis-Clark State, Oregon Tech, Idaho (twice) and Corban, while losing to Oregon State, Corban, Lewis-Clarke State and Southeastern.

Windeler and Lewis-Clark State’s Tyler Burch shared the Cascade Collegiate Conference and NAIA-West Co-Pitcher of the Year honors. Meanwhile, coach Chris Pritchett and Lewis-Clark State coach Jake Taylor shared coach of the year honours. Windeler was one of five UBC players named to the All-NAIA West Team along with 3B Nolan Weger (Surrey, BC), OF Brandon Hupe (Vancouver, BC), DH Jordan Dray (White Rock, BC), and RP Barry Caine (Surrey, BC).

A Toronto Mets grad, Windeler, who pitched for coach Chris Kemlo, earned Canadian Baseball Network honourable Mention in 2017.

Muenster Red Sox alum Logan Hofmann (Muenster, Sask.)

Right-hander _ Logan Hofmann (Muenster, Sask.) Colby Trojans.

Hofmann went 8-4 record with a 3.11 ERA in 17 appearances - including 15 starts fanning 128 in 89 2/3 innings. He led all Canucks with 128 strikeouts, seven more than Niagara’s Matt Brash (Kingston, Ont.) and 11 more than Lubbock Christian’s Ryan Johnson (Winnipeg, Man.).

He led the Colby staff in wins (eight), starts (15), innings pitched (89 2/3), ERA (3.11) and strikeouts (128). Five times he struck out 10 or more batters, including a season-high 14 in seven innings against New Mexico Military Institute and 13 in seven scoreless innings facing Dodge City.

Hofmann struck out eight in seven scoreless innings against against Garden City as he helped the Trojans advance to the Central District Playoffs for the first time since 2013. He had wins against Lamar, New Mexico Military, Seward County, Butler, Dodge City, Garden City, Pratt and Coffeyville while losing against Midland, Cloud County, Barton and Hutchinson. He was an All-Region VI first team, gaining pitcher of the year in the western division.

Before heading south, the two-time first team all-conference and all-region selection, pitched for coaches Greg Brons and Chad Hofmann with Team Saskatchewan, Moose Jaw Miller Express and Muenster Red Sox.

Former Prairie Baseball Academy Dawg Tanner Dalton (Leithbridge, Alta.)

Reliever _ Tanner Dalton (Lethbridge, Alta.) Sacramento State Hornets.

Dalton was 5-2 with six saves in 29 games. He had a 2.14 ERA in 29 games, walking 19 and striking out 67 in 59 innings. He tied for the team lead in saves and was fourth on the team in appearances, including three starts. His ERA was the sixth lowest in a season in program history. He was a workhorse throwing multiple innings 14 of his 26 relief appearances, including three or more innings five times.

He started twice in the WAC Tournament and once in the NCAA Regional. As a starter, he worked 13 innings allowing three earned runs as he struck out 13 and walked five in those starts. He fanned a career-high seven in three innings against Grand Canyon. And Dalton struck out four or more in 10 of his 29 games, while not allowing a run in 18 of his 29 games and holding opponents to one run or fewer in 25.

He earned All-WAC Second Team honours. Dalton, who pitched for Todd Hubka and the Prairie Baseball Academy Dawgs, earned Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian college Third Team honours in 2018.

Victoria Mariners grad Nick Seginowich (Victoria, BC)

Catcher _ Nick Seginowich (Victoria, BC) Angelo State Rams.

Seginowich had to have broad shoulder to carry a 10-letter last name. Turned out his shoulders were wide enough to carry Angelo State to a 46-12 record.

He had 18 doubles, a triple, 15 homers and 60 RBIs, while hitting .391, compiling a 1.172 OPS in 55 games.

As a newcomer he made quite an impression after transferring from the Salt Lake Bruins. His favourite line by coach Kevin Brooks is: “You’re not Canadian enough.” He finished fourth among Canadians in home runs (15, two behind Indiana’s Matt Lloyd, of Okotoks, Alta.) and sixth in RBIs (60, two behind Colby 3B Matt Coutney, of Edmonton Alta).

A former Victoria Mariner, he played for coach Mike Chewpoy.

Former Ontario Blue Jays 1B Malik Williams (Toronto, Ont.)

First base _ Malik Williams (Toronto, Ont.) Johnson County Cavaliers.

He batted .346 with 18 doubles, two triples, 10 homers and 54 RBIs. He finished with a .990 OPS in 56 games.

Williams led Johnson County with 71 hits, including three-hit games against Allen County (with two doubles, a homer, five RBIs), Allen County (RBI), Allen County (double, three RBIs), Fort Scott (RBI), Kansas City Kansas CC (solo homer), Kansas City Kansas (double, two RBIs), Garden City (double, homer, three RBIs) and Colby (double, two RBIs).

And he had two hits in each game against Brookhaven (double, RBI), Ellsworth (double), Minnesota West (two RBIs), Ottawa (homer, two RBIs), Labette (double, RBI), Highland (two RBIs), Allen County (home run, four RBIs), Fort Scott (two doubles, RBI), Kansas City (RBI), Neosho County (triple, two RBIs), Neosho (RBI), Cowley (double), Cowley (double) and Garden City (two doubles, RBI).

Williams, who played for the Ontario Blue Jays and coaches Sean Travers and Mike Steed, earned Canadian Baseball Network Second Team honours in 2018.

Vauxhall Academy grad Nolan Rattai (Medicine Hat, Alta.)

Second base _ Nolan Rattai (Medicine Hat, Alta.) of Columbia College Cougars.

Rattai batted .316 with 12 doubles, a triple, three homers and 28 RBIs. He had an .851 OPS in 51 games, including 48 starts as a senior. The Medicine Hat, Alta., native also scored 42 runs, accumulated 79 total bases and was 8-for-9 in stolen base attempts.

After batting .200 (7-for-35) is his first 13 games of the season, Rattai had a two-hit game against Freed-Hardeman. Plus, he had three-hit efforts against Harris-Stowe, Central Methodist and the LSU Shreveport Pilots.

The hitting didn’t stop there as he added two more against: Hannibal-LaGrange (twice), Missouri Baptist (twice), College of the Ozarks, Williams Baptist, Lyon, Harris-Stowe State and York.

Rattai earned AMC Academic All-Conference honors. He played for coach Les McTavish and the Vauxhall Academy Jets, also earned Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian Second Team honours in 2017 and was a Third Teamer in 2016.

Former Spruce Grove White Sox and St. Francis Academy 3B Matt Coutney (Edmonton, Alta.)

Third base _ Matt Coutney (Edmonton, Alta.) Colby Trojans.

He finished with 84 hits, four behind Western Kentucky’s Jake Sanford (Cole Harbour, N.S.) and 10 back of leader David Mendham (Dorchester, Ont.) from Connors State. He had 23 doubles to lead all Canucks, one more than Charleston’s Gianfranco Morello (Toronto, Ont.) and Columbia’s Nolan Rattai (Medicine Hat, Alta.).

He had three hit games against McCook (with two doubles, a homer, three RBIs), Midland (double, three RBIs), Seward County (RBI), Cloud County (double, RBI), Dodge City (double, homer, three RBIs), Garden City (homer, two RBIs), Garden City (homer, two RBIs) and Coffeyville (double, two RBIs).

Coutney had a pair of hits against Lamar (double, three RBIs), Odessa (homer, two RBIs), New Mexico Military (double, triple, two RBIs), New Mexico Military (double, RBI), Seward County (two doubles, RBI), Lamar (two doubles, two RBIs), Indian Hills, Barton, Hutchinson (homer, two RBIs), Hutchinson (double, three RBIs), Pratt (double), Pratt, Coffeyville (homer, two RBIs), Coffeyville (two homers, five RBIs), Johnson County (double, solo homer) and Hutchinson (two RBIs).

He earned Kansas Jayhawk Conference first team and All-Region VI first team honors. He was all-conference and all-region for the second time after being named the 2018 conference freshman of the year and a Region VI Gold Glove winner.

Coutney, who played with the Spruce Grove White Sox, and the St. Francis Academy under Rob Boik, earned Canadian Baseball Network Second Team all-Canadian honours in 2018.

SS Trei Cruz (Toronto, Ont)

Shortstop _ Trei Cruz Rice Owls.

Cruz was born in Toronto when his father Jose Cruz Jr. played for the Blue Jays. Like his father he can hit and he has gone on to play for Rice ... the “Harvard of the great south” as we have read once or twice.

Cruz batted .305 with 11 doubles, six triples, nine homers and 44 RBIs. He had a .982 OPS in 58 games.

He played in 58 of the team’s 59 games, and started every game in which he played, despite playing at shortstop, He usually batted third in the order (40 times). He was tied for 15th in the nation (second in Conference USA) with six triples which was eighth-highest single season total in school history and the most by an Owl a decade. Cruz led the team, and ranked among the C-USA leaders, with 121 total bases (tied for sixth) and 50 runs scored (10th).

He helped lift the team into qualifying for the C-USA Tournament by batting .325 in the second half. He hit safely in a team-best nine straight games and reached in 12-consecutive games during one stretch. He collected two or more hits in a game 20 times, including a career-high four in a game twice, including his best game when he went 4-for-6 with two home runs and two triples in one game against Rhode Island amassing 14 total bases, fifth-highest single game total in school history. He drove in a total of nine runs that day second-highest single game total in school history (one behind the Rice record of 10 RBIs set in 1995 by his father All-American and ex-major leaguer Jose Cruz, Jr.

Rice earned berths on the All-Conference USA (second team) as well as being Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week and C-USA Hitter of the Week.

ABC grad and former les Bisons de Saint-Eustache Marc-Antoine Lebreux (Sainte-Anne, Que.)

Outfielders _ Marc-Antoine Lebreux (Sainte-Anne, Que.) Seminole State (OK) Trojans, Tristan Peters (Winkler, Man.) Chandler-Gilbert Coyotes, Evan Webb (Whitby, Ont.) Concord Mountain Lions.

Lebreux hit .376 with 15 doubles, five triples, nine homers and 57 RBIs. He had a 1.127 OPS in 50 games while going 20-for-22 stealing bases.

He also had a four-hit game against Eastern Oklahoma (double, homer, five RBIs), plus three-hit games against Arkansas Baptist (double, four RBIs), Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (two doubles, RBI), Carl Albert State (two doubles, RBI), Rose State (double, homer, three RBIs), Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (double, homer, four RBIs) and Connors State (double, triple, two RBIs).

Lebreux had two-hit games against Murray State (with a solo homer), Weatherford, Murray State, Redlands (double, two RBIs), Rose State (two doubles, two RBIs), Eastern Oklahoma State (RBI), Eastern Oklahoma (two solo homers), Carl Albert State (two RBIs), Connors State (triple, three RBIs), Arkansas Baptist (homer, two RBIs), Hutchinson (triple, home run, six RBIs), Rose State (double), Eastern Oklahoma, Northeastern Oklahoma (RBI) and Connors State (homer, two RBIs).

Lebreux, who played for coach Robert Fatal at the ABC played for les Bisons de Saint-Eustache and coach Luc Desgroseilliers. earned Canadian Baseball Network honourable mention all-Canadian honours in 2018.

Okotoks Dawgs OF Tristan Peters (Winkler, Man.)

Peters batted .373 with 15 doubles, eight triples, six homers and 32 RBIs while putting up a 1.103 OPS in 69 games. He was 26-for-29 stealing bags. Peters topped all Canucks with eight triples, two more than Clarendon’s Deric Lamontagne ((Saint-Amable, Que.) and Seminole State’s Archer Brookman (Pointe-Claire, Que.).

Peters batted .373 with 15 doubles, eight triples, six homers and 32 RBIs. He ran up a 1.103 OPS in 49 games. His best game was a 4-for-4 outing against Glendale. Peters had three-hit games against Arizona Christian (with a double, RBI), Madison (double, triple, RBI) and Glendale (RBI).

And he managed two-hit outings against Grand Canyon (RBI), Benedictine (double, triple, RBI), Madison, Paradise Valley (double, triple, two RBIs), Paradise Valley (double), Pima (triple), Mesa (homer, four RBIs), Paradise Valley (double, RBI), Glendale (double, RBI) and Scottsdale (double, homer, two RBIs).

Peters played for the Okotoks Dawgs and coaches Tyler Hollick, Val Heldobler and Jeff Duda, as well as the GVC Zodiacs and coach Gerry Falk plus Team Manitoba and coach Faron Asham.

Former Toronto Mets Evan Webb (Whitby, Ont.) of the Concord Mountain Lions.

There was a time when Webb pitched and played first. He may have switched positions but his bat remained potent. Webb hit .397 with 16 doubles, a triple, eight homers and 54 RBIs. In 49 games he had an OPS of 1.174. Webb led the Mountain Lions in average, at-bats, doubles, RBIs, total bases, as well as shared the lead in hits.

He had a four-hit games against Shepherd (with a double), while managing three-hit outings against Salem (triple, six RBIs), West Virginia Wesleyan (two doubles, two RBIs), Glenville State (two doubles), Charleston (double, RBI), Bluefield State (double, RBI) and Virginia-Wise (two RBIs).

As well, he had two-hit games against Ohio Valley, Wheeling Jesuit (double, two RBIs), Notre Dame (RBI), Winston-Salem State (solo homer), Fairmont State (double), West Virginia State (two doubles, two RBIs), West Virginia State (two RBIs), Bluefield State (RBI). West Virginia Wesleyan (home run, four RBIs) and Ohio Valley (homer, six RBIs).

The former Toronto Met was voted to the All-Mountain East Conference Honorable Mention Team this spring and received Canadian Baseball Network Honourable Mention honours in 2017.

ABC grad Marcel Lacasse (Gatineau, Que.)

Designated hitter _ Marcel Lacasse (Gatineau, Que.) Western Texas Westerners.

He had eight doubles, a triple, nine homers and 32 RBIs for a 1.055 OPS in 39 games. .

As a sophomore, Lacasse had a pair of hits facing Alvin (double, RBI), as well as Western Oklahoma State (RBI), Luna (two homers, five RBIs), Luna (double, home run, two RBIs), Clarendon (double, triple, RBI), Clarendon (home run, two RBIs) and Clarendon (double, three RBIs).

Lacasse had a breakout freshman campaign for the Westerners in 2018 hitting .447 with 16 doubles, two triples and 13 home runs to drive in 61 runs with a slugging percentage of .865 and an on-base clip of .535

He earned WJCAC First Team All-Conference accolades in 2018. Lacasse, who earned Canadian Baseball Network Second Team honours in 2018, played for the Gatineau Hull-Volant and coach Michel Landriault and then Robert Fatal’s ABC.

Third Team

Lafleche Dragons alum David Gauthier (Mont Saint-Hilaire, Que.)

Left hander _ David Gauthier (Mont Saint-Hilaire, Que.) Nyack Warriors.

He was 7-4 in 12 starts with 24 walks and 85 strikeouts in 83 1/3 innings.

His best outing was a complete-game 16-strikeout performance in a 15-5 win over Post (one walk, three earned runs) and he struck out 15 in a 15-5 victory against Bloomfield (four walks, one earned run).

Gauthier had wins against Franklin Pierce (four runs, one strikeout, six walks), Jefferson (four runs, one walk, seven whiffs), Concordia-New York (one run in nine innings, eight strikeouts), Dominican (eight scoreless, two walks, seven strikeouts), USciences (eight scoreless, five whiffs), along with his dominant strikeout gems against Post and Bloomfield.

A two-way player, Gauthier batted .297 with nine doubles, two triples and 34 RBIs, while running up a .826 OPS in 44 games.

A grad from the LaFleche Dragons and coach Alexandre Béland, Gauthier won Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian college team Second Team honours in 2018 and was named to the all-Canadian college team Third Team in 2017 when he was with the Trinidad State Trojans.

Great Lake Canadians grad Tyler Whitbread (Camlachie, Ont.)

Right hander _ Tyler Whitbread (Camlachie, Ont.) Indiana State Sycamores.

He was 9-2 in 15 starts with a 3.23 ERA, walking only 16 and striking out 66 in 83 2/3 innings. He held opponents to a .238 average.

Whitbread pitched eight innings in a 4-1 win over the Southern Illinois Salukis to move to 2-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference championship. Then came wins over Southern Illinois and Dallas Baptist (twice) to win the conference title.

Whitbread finished his tourney win tying a career high with eight innings pitched and one shy of a career high with nine strikeouts. He also tossed a season high 131 pitches. It was the fourth time this season that Whitbread had not allowed an earned run and the first time since March 31 against Missouri State. Next at the NCAA Nashville Regional, Whitbread beat Ohio State 10-5. He allowed four runs on 12 hits and one walk, while striking out six.

Besides Southern Illinois State and Ohio State, he also had wins over Iona, Mercer, The Citadel, Rutgers, Missouri State, Illinois State and Bradley.

Whitbread pitched for coaches Adam Stern and Chris Robinson with the Great Lake Canadians.

Abbotsford Cardinals alum Jarrod Manick (Aldergrove, BC).

Reliever _ Jarrod Manick (Aldergrove, BC) of the McPherson Bulldogs.

He was 1-1 with 10 saves and a 3.27 ERA in 19 appearances. He walked 19 and struck out 54 in 33 innings.

Manick had saves in his first three outings to start the season against Mid-America Christian (twice) and Southwest. Next came saves in back-to-back games against Sterling and two facing Avila. He also had saves against St. Mary, Tablor and York. Six of the saves were two innings or longer. His win was against Kansas Wesleyan and was a four-inning, eight-strikeout outing. .

He took the loss in McPherson’s season finale when he allowed six runs on five hits and three walks in 3 2/3 innings. Prior to that in his first 18 outings his ERA was above 2.00 exactly twice. There were times when his seasonal post-game ERA was 0.96, 0.87, 0.96 and 0.92. .

Manick, who earned Kansas All-Conference First Team honours, pitched for the Abbotsford Cardinals and coach Cory Eckstein.

Ontario Blue Jays alum Garrett Takamatsu (Burlington, Ont.)

Catcher _ Garrett Takamatsu (Burlington, Ont.) Indian Hills Falcons.

Takamatsu hit .353 with 13 doubles, a triple, 10 homers and 46 RBIs compiling a 1.109 OPS in 42 games.

He owned Colby pitching with a four-hit effort (double, two homers, seven RBIs) in one game and three hits in another (two doubles, two RBIs). He also had three hits in a game against Southwestern (homer, three RBIs).

Takamatsu had two-hit outings facing Crowder (double, homer, four RBIs), Oklahoma Christian JVs (RBI), Colby (double, two RBIs), Rend Lake (RBI), Iowa Central (double, RBI), Des Moines Area (homer, four RBIs), Des Moines Area (two doubles, triple, home run, two RBIs), Marshalltown, Marshalltown (RBI), Marshalltown (two doubles, two RBIs) and Southwestern (double, homer, three RBIs). He fared well in a doubleheader against Marshalltown with a homer in each game: a two-run homer in Game 1 and he drilled his ninth home run of the season in the nitecap to up his RBI total to 38.

He played for the Ontario Blue Jays and Mike Steed.

Former Ontario Royal Ryan Magdic (Bowmanville, Ont.)

First base _ Ryan Magdic (Beamsville, Ont.) Cochise Apaches.

He batted .330, hitting 12 doubles, with a triple, five homers and 41 RBIs for an .852 OPS in 55 games. Magdic led Cochise in hits (66), doubles (12) and batting average (.330),

Magdic’s first game at New Mexico showed he had zero problem adjusting to college ball as he went 4-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. He also went 4-for-4 with an RBI against El Paso and Eastern Arizona.

He also had three hits against El Paso, Phoenix (with an RBI), Mayville State JVs (double, homer, four RBIs), Mesa, and Eastern Arizona (triple, homer, two RBIs).

Magdic managed two hits against Utah State Eastern (double, RBI), Utah State Eastern (double, RBI), El Paso (home run, four RBIs), Yavapai, Yavapai (double, homer, three RBIs), Phoenix (RBI), Glendale, Chandler-Gilbert (double), Pima (RBI), Pima and Paradise Valley.

He played for the Oakville Royals and coach Shawn Lynn.

Stouffville Yankees and Toronto Mets alum Tyler Black (Toronto, Ont.)

Second base _ Tyler Black (Toronto, Ont.), Wright State Raiders.

He batted a lofty .353 with 11 doubles, five triples, seven homers and 41 RBIs. Black had an OPS of 1.069 in 52 games and was 8-for-11 stealing.

His best games were a 4-for-5 outing against Xavier (four RBIs, double) and three-hit games playing Indiana (home run, three RBIs), Northern Kentucky (double, two RBIs) and Oakland (two doubles, triple, RBI).

Black had two-hit games against Utah, Illinois-Chicago (RBI), Youngstown State (triple, homer, three RBIs), Northern Kentucky (double), Xavier (triple, homer), Milwaukee (double), Youngstown State (double, two RBIs), Oakland (triple, two RBIs), Northern Kentucky (two RBIs) and Illinois-Chicago.

Wright played for the Stouffville Yankees and coach Rob Butler, as well as the Toronto Mets and coach Chris Kemlo.

Ontario Nationals alum David Mendham (Dorchester, Ont.)

Third base _ David Mendham (Dorchester, Ont.) Connors State Cowboys.

Mendham had 17 doubles, a triple, 14 homers and 85 RBIs. He hit .422 with a 1.228 OPS. Mendham led all Canucks in average -- 24 points higher than Jake Sanford (Cole Harbour, NS) of Western Kentucky -- and hits, six more than Sanford. He was second in RBIs scored behind JT Patterson (Calgary, Alta.) of Bellevue six back.

His best games were 4-for-5 with a double, two homers and two RBIs against Northeastern Oklahoma A&M and he was 4-for-6 with two doubles playing Seminole State.

Mendham had three-hit games against Eastern Oklahoma State (double, three RBIs), Eastern Oklahoma State, Seminole State (RBI), Rose State (double), Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (double, triple, four RBIs), Delgado (homer, three RBIs) and Delgado (double, RBI).

He had two-hit outings against the Ozarks, Ozarks (RBI), Otero (home run, four RBIs), TCS Postgrad (RBI), Oklahoma Wesleyan (double, two RBIs), Ozarks (RBI), Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (three RBIs), Southern Nazarene (double, RBI), Crowder (three RBIs), Arkansas Baptist (double, RBI), Southern Nazarene (two RBIs), Eastern Oklahoma State, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (RBI), Oklahoma Wesleyan (double, homer, four RBIs), Oklahoma Wesleyan (homer, four RBIs), Arkansas Baptist (double, RBI), Seminole State (double, three RBIs), Eastern Oklahoma State, Seminole State (double, two RBIs). Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (homer, two RBIs) and Chattahoochee Valley.

Mendham played for coach Shawn Gillespie and the Ontario Nationals, while Shawn Travers helped find a place for Mendham at Connors.

Former Ontario Blue Jay Tyler Small (Mississauga, Ont.)

Shortstop _ Tyler Small (Mississauga, Ont.) Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Golden Norse.

Small hit .398 with 16 doubles, six homers and 49 RBIs. In 54 games he had a 1.122 OPS while stealing 10 bases in 11 chances.

His season-high four-hit games against Rose State (4-for-5 with a double and four RBIs), Seminole State 94-for-5 with two doubles, a homer and three RBIs) and Connors State (4-for-6 with a double and four RBIs).

He had three-hit outings facing Eastern Oklahoma State when he went 3-for-6 (three doubles, three RBIs, Metropolitan where he was 3-for-4 (double) and Seminole State (double, RBI).

Small had two hits against Eastern Oklahoma State (double), Indian Hills (double, RBI), Connors State (two homers, six RBIs), Connors State (double, two RBIs), Northern Oklahoma (double, two RBIs), Oklahoma Wesleyan (three RBIs), Rose State, Arkansas Baptist (three RBIs), Arkansas Baptist, Crowder, Seminole State (RBI, double) and Rose State (RBI).

Small played for the Ontario Blue Jays and coaches Shawn Travers and Mike Steed.

Outfielders _ Matt Turino (Toronto, Ont.) Jefferson Vikings, Austen Swift (Toronto, Ont.) William Jessup Warriors, Cooper Davis (Mississauga, Ont.) Vanderbilt Commodores and Gibson Krzeminski (Tecumseh, Ont.) Iowa Western Reivers (tie).

Toronto Mets alum Matt Turino (Toronto, Ont.)

Turino had a 1.039 OPS and went 30-34 stealing bases in 56 games.

He had three-hit games against Mississippi Gulf Coast (double, homer, two RBIs), Bryant & Stratton College (double), St. Charles (double, triple, three RBIs) and Mineral Area (two RBIs).

He managed two-hit outings against Mississippi Gulf (two RBIs), Webster (double, RBI), Bryant & Stratton (double, RBI), Quincy University JVs (double, two RBIs), North Central Missouri (RBI), Metropolitan (two RBIs), Crowder, St. Louis (RBI), St. Louis (double, RBI), St. Louis (two RBIs), Lewis & Clark (RBI), Mineral Area (two doubles), Mineral (double), North Central Missouri (double, homer, three RBIs), Webster (triple, RBI), Harris Stowe (two doubles), Three Rivers (triple, home run, three RBIs), State Fair (double, two RBIs), State Fair (two RBIs), Metropolitan (double, triple, two RBIs) and Metropolitan.

Turino, who played for the Toronto Mets and coach Chris Kemlo, earned Region XVI All-Region team second team honours.

Ontario Blue Jays alum Austen Swift (Etobicoke, Ont.)

Swift hit .310 with eight doubles, a triple, 12 homers and 40 RBIs. He had a 1.013 OPS in 49 games.

He had a three-hit game against Saint Katherine (triple, homer, two RBIs)

Swift had two-hit efforts against Antelope Valley (solo homer), The Master’s (two homers, four RBIs), Arizona Christian (solo homer), Ottawa twice, Hope International, Hope International (two solo home runs), Vanguard, Vanguard (two RBIs), The Master’s (double, homer, two RBIs), Hope International (double, three RBIs) and St. Thomas (RBI).

Swift, who played for the Ontario Blue Jays and coaches Dan Bleiwas, Sean Travers and Mike Steed, as well as West Toronto for coaches David Quattrociocchi and Raf Choudhury, was a Canadian Baseball Network First Teamer in 2018 and earned Canadian Baseball Network Honourable Mention honours in 2016.

Ontario Blue Jays alum Cooper Davis (Mississauga, Ont.)

Davis batted .331 with seven doubles, two triples and 19 RBIs. He had an .863 OPS in 35 games and was 6-for-7 stealing bases.

He reached base in 31 of his 35 appearances and logged a hit in 25 games as a sophomore, while batting .371 (13-for-35) with two outs and .365 (19-for-52) with runners on base. Davis began the season red-hot with a hit in his first nine games and 11 of his first 12 games and he reached base in his first 29 games of the season

Davis produced 10 multi-hit games between Feb. 20 and March 21, batting .394 (26-for-66), however, he appeared in only three games after April 14 due to injury.

Davis worked 23 walks including 10 in an 11-game span. He recorded two doubles and three RBIs against Dayton and went 2-for-5 with three RBIs in the SEC opener at Texas A&M.

Davis played for the Ontario Blue Jays and coaches Dan Bliewas and Shawn Travers.

Windsor Selects grad Gibson Krzeminski (Tecumseh, Ont.)

Krzeminski batted .402 and had an OPS of 1.150 in 45 games as he hit 15 doubles, a triple, five homers and 41 RBIs.

His best game was a 4-for-4 against Southwestern with a pair of doubles and an RBI. He had three hits against Southwestern (triple, four RBIs), facing Southeast (homer, three RBIs), Marshalltown (two doubles, RBI), Connors State (double, RBI), Walter State (double, solo homer) and Central Arizona (RBI).

The true switch hitter had two hits in games against Marshalltown (two doubles), Indian Hills (double), Wabash Valley (RBI) and Wabash Valley (homer, three RBIs).

Krzeminski, who played for coach Marc Picard and the Windsor Selects, earned Canadian Baseball Network honourable mention honours in 2018.

Designated hitter _ Domenico Morea (Barrie, Ont.) Erie Kats.

Morea batted .312 with 10 doubles, one triple, four homers and 38 RBIs. He had a .904 OPS in 43 games.

He had two hits against Lincoln Land, St. Cloud Tech (double, RBI), Waubonsee (two doubles), CCBC Essex (homer, four RBIs), Essex (double, two RBIs), Harford (double, homer, four RBIs), Gannon JVs (homer, four RBIs), SUNY Broome (double, RBI), Corning, Niagara County and Genesee (home run, four RBIs).

Morea played for the Ontario Giants.



Honourable Mention

Left-handers: Taran Oulton (St. Albert, Alta.) William Woods Owls; Braden Babcock (Oshawa, Ont.) McCook Indians and Zach Newman (Miramichi, NB) Minort State Beavers.

Voting (5-3-1 basis; first-place votes in brackets): Johnson (54) 285; Windeler (5) 134, Gauthier 75; Oulton 19, Babcock 9, Newman 8.

(One other received less than seven points.)

Trevor Brigden (Toronto, Ont.) Okanogan Coyotes,

Right-handers: Trevor Brigden (Toronto, Ont.) Okanogan Coyotes, Josh Burgmann (Nanaimo, BC) Washington Huskies, Jacob Kush (Guelph, Ont.) Northwest Florida State Raiders, Noah Skirrow (Stoney Creek, Ont.) Liberty Flames, Garrett Goodall (Nanaimo, BC) Embry-Riddle Eagles and Olivier Mailloux (Ville de Quebec, Que.) Northwestern Ohio Racers.

Voting (5-3-1 basis; first-place votes in brackets):: Brash (23) 143, Hoffman (8) 96, Whitbread (9) 90, Bridgen (9) 60, Burgmann (4) 47, Abram (1) 34, Kush (3) 23, Maiolloux (7), Skirrow (1) 7.

(Five others had less than seven points)


Relievers _ Evan Chenier (Georgetown, Ont.), Virginia Commonwealth Rams, Spencer Davis (Regina, Sask.) Monterey Peninsula Lobos, Christian Lazar (Mississauga, Ont.) Sioux Falls Cougars, Stuart Martin (Ajax, Ont.) Missouri S&T Miners, Barry Caine (Surrey, BC) British Columbia Thunderbirds, Adam Parker (Toronto, Ont.) Jefferson Cavileers and Daniel Sereda (Vancouver, BC) UBC.

Voting (5-3-1 basis; first-place votes in brackets): Brand (23) 160, Dalton (18) 115, Manick (6) 83, Chenier (4) 40, Davis (2) 36, Lazar (2) 35, Martin 23, Caine (2) 16, Parker (11), Sereda (1) 8.

(One player had less than eight votes).

Catchers _ Luke Hornaski (Dugald, Man.) Virginia Tech, Max Wright (Toronto, Ont.) Indiana State Sycamores, Cole MacLaren (Morell, PEI) Pitt Panthers, Sam Chaput (Boisbriand, Que.) Crowder Roughriders, Zac Fascia (Brampton, Ont.) Purdue Boilermakers, Joe Tevlin (Toronto, Ont.) Niagara Purple Eagles.

Voting (5-3-1 basis; first-place votes in brackets): Brookman (18) 172, Seginowich (27) 170, Takamatsu (1) 58, Horanski (5) 50, Wright (2) 24), MacLaren (3) 18, Chaput 15, Fascia (1) 11, Tevlin (1) 5.

(Four had less than four votes.)

First base _ Kyle MacDonald (Mississauga, Ont.) Arkansas State Red Wolves, Zachary Koroneos (Toronto, Ont.) Penn State Harrisburg Lions, Daniel Warkentin (Leamington, Ont.) Parkland Cobras, Matt Warkentin (Leamington, Ont.) Xavier Muskateers, Tyler Dobie (Toronto, Ont.) Point Park Pioneers, Jaxon Valcke (Stratford, Ont.) UBC Thunderbirds and Keith Manby (White Rock, BC) Miles Pioneers.

Voting (5-3-1 basis; first-place votes in brackets): Lloyd (45) 238, Williams (6) 104, Magdic (3) 42, MacDonald (2) 31, Koroneos (1) 29, D. Warkentin (1) 25, M. Warkentin (1) 14, Dobie 12, Valcke 11, Manby 9.

(Three had less than five votes).

Second base _ Nicholas Ankerman Eastern (Lethbridge, Alta.) New Mexico, Royce Ando (Mississauga, Ont.) Michigan State, Darius Barlas (Orangeville, Ont.) Mary, Austin Watamaniuk (Westlock, Alta.) Benedictine, Elliott Curtis (Waterloo, Ont.) Kentucky, Robbie Wilkes (Regina, Sask.) Arizona Western.

Voting (on 5-3-1 basis; first-place votes in brackets): Julien (21) 160, Rattai (17) 138, Black (15) 121, Ankerman (1) 34, Ando (1) 25, Barlas (2) 20, Watamaniuk 14, Curtis (1) 8, Wilkes 6.

(Two receieved less than five votes.)

Third basemen _ Taylor Wright (Vancouver, BC) Maryland Terps, Jason Willow (Victoria, BC) UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, Edouard Savoie (Saint Eustache, Que.) Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Golden Norse and Drew Dickerson (Port Hope, Ont.) Youngstown State Penquins.

Voting (on 5-3-1 basis; first-place votes in brackets): Patterson (37) 223, Coutney (9) 145, Mendham (6) 104, Willow (1) 11), Savoie 6, Dickerson (1).

(Five had less than five votes.)

Shortstops _ Dylan Borman (Camrose, Alta.) Arkansas-Monticello Boll Weevils, Conner Morro (Cheltenham, Ont.) Canisius Golden Griffs, Grant Okawa (Mississauga, Ont.) Jamestown Jimmies, Gus Wilson (Duncan, BC) Galveston Whitecaps, Ryan O’Halloran (Mississauga, Ont.) Orange Coast Pirates, Aidan Huggins (Edmonton Alta.) Illinois State Redbirds.

Voting (on 5-3-1 basis; first-place votes in brackets): Gallagher (13) 160, Cruz (19) 143, Small (21) 137, Borman (3) 39, Morro (2) 26, Okawa 7, Wilson 6, O’Halloran (1) 5, Huggins (5).

(One player received less than five votes).

Outfielders _ Caleb Feuerstake (Waterdown, Ont.) Mineral Area Cardinals, Gianfranco Morello (Toronto, Ont.) Charleston (WV) Golden Eagles, Deric Lamontagne (Saint-Amable, Que.) Clarendon Chaparrals, Clayton Keyes (Calgary, Alta.) Central Arizona Vaqueros, Jordan Glazer (Côte-Saint-Luc, Que.) Chesapeake Skipjacks, Alex Bedard (Levis, Que.) Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs, Tucker Zdunich (High River, Alta.) Colby Trojans, Jean-Francois Garon (Terrebonne, Que.) Bradley Braves, Zach Diewert (Chemainus, BC) Florida Southern Mocs, Jake Wilson (New Lowell, Ont.) Bowling Green Falcons, Adam Plouffe (Toronto, Ont.) Mars Hill Lions, Jacob Bouzide (Calgary, Alta.) Colby Trojans, Jacob Ervin (Mississauga, Ont.) Northeastern Oklahoma A & M Golden Norse, Luke Lubiniecki (Regina, Sask.) Pikeville Bears, David LeBlanc (Beaumont, Alta.) Husson Eagles, Anthony Vavaroutsos (Toronto, Ont.) Shippensburg Raiders, Jared Binsfeld (Saskatoon, Sask.) Bismarck State Mystics, Chandler Robertson (Ancaster, Ont.) Central Florida Knights, Drew Reilly (Cambridge, Ont.) Keiser Hawks, Warriors, Jack Omstead (Etobicoke, Ont.) DePauw Tigers and Jackson Hogg (Surrey, BC) Dodge City Conquistadors.

Voting (on 5-3-1 basis; first-place votes in brackets): Sanford (36) 195, Howie (25) 170, Myers (15) 119, Lebreux (12) 114, Peters (10) 113, Webb (10) 92, Turino (8) 83, Swift (7) 81, Davis (13) 78, Krzeminski (6) 78, Feuerstake (6) 75, Morello (4) 56, Lamontagne (7) 44, Keyes (3) 37, Glazer (1) 24, Bedard (2) 22, Zdunich 18, Garon (3) 17, Diewert (1) 13, Wilson 12, Plouffe 11, Bouzide (1) 10, Ervin (1) 9, Lubiniecki (1) 9, LeBlanc (1) 8, Vavaroutsos (1) 8, Binsfeld 7, Robertson (1) 7, Reilly 7, Cina (1), 5, Olmstead (1) 5, Hogg 5.

(13 players received less than 5 points)

DH _ Matt Hilderbrandt (Bowmanville, Ont.) Limestone Saints, Ryan Rijo (Barrie, Ont.) Lubbock Christian Chaps. Cole Toucker (Mt. Pearl, Nfld.) Blackhawks, Jake Sanford (Cole Harbours, NS) Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.

Voting (on 5-3-1 basis; first-place votes in brackets): Hicks (53) 275, Lacasse (3) 111, Morea 63, Hilderbrandt 42, Rijo (2) 12, Tucker 12, Sanford (1) 5.

(Three others received less than five votes.)

* * *

The list of winners of Canadian Baseball Network Player of the Year (most first-place votes for the All-Canadian team):

2019 _ LHP Ryan Johnson (Winnipeg, Man.) of Lubbock Christian Chaps, he had 54 of 59 first-place votes (91.5%).

2018 _ DH Edouard Julien (Quebec City, Que.) of the Auburn Tigers, who garnered 43 of 52 ballots (82.7%).

2017 _ OF Christopher Acosta-Tapia (Laval, Que.) of Oklahoma Wesleyan Eagles, received first-place votes from 41 of 51 (80.3%) voters.

2016 _ LHP Guillaume Blanchette (St-Constant, Que.) of Lubbock Christian Chaparrals 51 of 51 first-place votes.

2015 _ 3B Connor Panas (Toronto, Ont.) of the Canisius Golden Griffins, 33 of 45 ballots (73.3).

2014 _ 2B-OF Craig-St. Louis (Gatineau, Que.) of the Seminole State Trojans, 50-for-59 (84.7).

2013 _ LHP Ryan Kellogg (Whitby, Ont.) of the Arizona State Sun Devils, 50-for-65 (76.9).

2012 _ 2B Maxx Tissenbaum (Toronto, Ont.) of the Stony Brook Seawolves, 40-for-58 (69).

2011 _ OF Chase Larsson (Vancouver, BC), of the Cameron Aggies, 39 of 41 votes (95.1).

2010 _ OF Marcus Knecht (North York, Ont.) of the Connors State Cowboys, 49 of 51 (96.1).

2009 _ 3B Jesse Sawyer (Calgary, Alta.) of the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, 33 for 49 (67.3).

2008 _ DH Mike Gosse (Pitt Meadows, BC) of the Oklahoma Sooners, 35 of 42 (83.3).

2007 _ 1B Kevin Atkinson (Surrey, BC) of the New Mexico Jr. College Thunderbirds, 55 for 62 (88.7).

2006 _ OF Jon Baksh (Mississauga, Ont.) of the Florida Tech Panthers, 40 of 63 (63.5).

2005 _ 1B Karl Amonite (Woodslee, Ont.) of the Auburn Tigers, 55 for 62 (88.7).

2004 _ OF Charlie MacFarlane (Lantzville, BC) of the Cumberland Bulldogs, 36 for 45 (80).

2003 _ C Aaron McRae (Delta, BC) of the LSU-Shreveport Pilots, 37 for 49 (75.5).

2002 (tie) _ OF Ryan Kenning (North Vancouver, BC) of the New Mexico State Aggies and RP-SS Jesse Crain (Toronto, Ont.) of the Houston Cougars, nine first-place votes on 16 ballots (56.3) in 2002.

2001 _ LHP Jeff Francis (North Delta, BC) of the British Columbia Thunderbirds, six of seven (85.7).

2000 _ OF Ben Emond (Farnham, Que.) of the Texas Longhorns our inaugural year.