Shushkewich: Panas elected to Canisius Sports Hall of Fame

Toronto Mets and national team alum Connor Panas (Toronto, Ont.) has been elected to the Canisius Sports Hall of Fame. Photo: Canisius Athletics

May 12, 2026

By Tyson Shushkewich

Canadian Baseball Network

Canisius University revealed its 60th Sports Hall of Fame Class yesterday morning, and one of the new inductees has Canadian connections.

Connor Panas (Toronto, Ont.) is the lone baseball player being inducted this year, with the Toronto Mets alum boasting a solid resume from his time with the Golden Griffins and post-university. He is the 28th baseball player from Canisius to be inducted.

Panas spent four seasons in the Buffalo-based program, posting a collective .330/.447/.522 slash line with 50 doubles, 13 triples, and 18 home runs in 217 games. Splitting time between the corner infield spots, Panas amassed a .968 fielding percentage.

Through his time with the Golden Griffins, Panas earned numerous accolades. He is the only male in Canisius’s history to earn the MAAC Student-Athlete of the Year award twice (2014, 2015) and also earned the 2015 MAAC Championship tournament MVP Award after recording 13 hits and 12 RBIs on the way to the program’s second MAAC championship title. Panas also earned ABCA All-Northeast Region honours (2014, 2015), Canadian Baseball Network First Team honours (2014, 2015), First Team All-American (2015), MAAC Player of the Year (2014), and All-MAAC First Team honours (2014, 2015).

Across the program's history, Panas ranks first in triples, second in games played and total bases (377), fourth in runs (162) and doubles, fifth in RBIs (155) and hits (247), sixth in walks (106), seventh in at-bats (722), and ninth in stolen bases (42). Panas also holds the single-season record for hits with 92 in the 2015 season.

With his impressive work, Panas became the 10th Canisius player drafted to the major leagues, with the Toronto Blue Jays selecting him in the ninth round in 2015.

Panas spent parts of four seasons climbing up the Jays' farm system before Toronto dealt him to the San Diego Padres in exchange for left-hander Clayton Richard on December 30, 2018. The Padres would release Panas during the 2019 season.

The infielder would take his talents to independent ball from 2021 through 2023 before heading down south to play in the Mexican League. Panas split the 2024 season between Veracruz and Campeche and spent the entire 2025 season with the Pirates. This season, Panas joined Bravos de Leon and owns an impressive .333/.434/.667 slash line through 19 games, collecting three doubles and six home runs with 16 RBIs.

Internationally, Panas has represented Canada at the 2019 Pan Am Games and also donned the Maple Leaf at the 2019 WBSC Premier12 tournament and the 2021 WBSC Baseball Americas Qualifier. Panas has also played overseas, suiting up in Australia for Canberra in 2017 and Brisbane in 2023. In addition, he was drafted by the Arabia Wolves for the inaugural season of Baseball United, a league aimed at expanding the game throughout the Middle East and Asia.

The formal induction ceremony for the Hall of Fame class is scheduled for September 25 at Canisius. The Canisius Sports Hall of Fame now has 223 individual members.