By Alexis Brudnicki
Canadian Baseball Network
Noah Naylor has committed to the Aggies.

In between wrapping up his first full year of touring with the Canadian Junior National Team, and a whirlwind summer complete with his hectic Ontario Blue Jays schedule inside the Canadian Premier Baseball League and out, just before being named to the All-Tournament Team at the Perfect Game World Wood Bat Association World Championships in Jupiter, the 16-year-old catcher secured his spot in the SEC.

“I’ve had to bear down and make a decision, and I had it narrowed down to a couple schools and Texas A&M was in the top for a while,” Naylor said. “I was talking to them for a bit and once we were on our fall trip [with the OBJ program] we were able to make it down to Texas. We stayed there for five days, and during that time I went out [OBJ director of player development Sean] Travers to see the place, and I fell in love right when I saw it.”

With his final decision narrowed down to just three collegiate programs, the young left-handed hitting backstop enjoyed absolutely everything the Aggies had to offer, giving him a complete picture during his tour of the campus and facilities earlier this fall, standing out amongst the crowd when it came time for him to make a choice.

“It’s amazing,” Naylor said. “It’s a top-notch place. There aren’t really many places that are as good as that. They’ve got great gear, great equipment, great trainers, and it’s just the real deal. That’s something I like, I look forward to being a part of it…

“I met most of the coaching staff, I met the trainer, the video guy, I met some of the players on the team during the tour, I met the academic advisor, and all of them were just amazing people. When I was down there, we got to see the whole community. You can tell they’re all for Texas A&M and that’s something that I would love to be a part of, just being around those fans. They love the game and they really love that team.”

While in Texas, Naylor – currently Canada’s top high school prospect in the 2018 draft class – had an opportunity to get on Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park, see some of the current team in action, and tour all of the baseball facilities.

“They had some practice games when I was down there, intrasquad games,” the native of Mississauga said. “They just split the team into two teams and played, so I got to see a couple innings of that and it was great. It was pretty fun. I got to see some pretty live arms, and really good players.”

The 5-foot-11, 190-pound hitter’s commitment to Texas A&M followed an earlier commitment of his older brother Josh – selected 12th overall in the 2015 draft – to Texas Tech, both sharing their dad’s affinity for the state and everything it has to offer.

“My dad [Chris] is a really big Texas baseball fan,” Noah Naylor said. “He’s always loved it. There’s something about it with him. And my dad, wherever he likes, my mom [Jenice] has some interest in it. And he just loves it, the environment, and especially the weather. He and I can both agree on that. It’s amazing.”

Just after securing his potential future spot with the Aggies, Noah rejoined Team Canada for its final trip of the year in Orlando, where he shared the news with teammate Adam Hall, the country’s top high school prospect for next year’s draft, also committed to Texas A&M, who reiterated everything the young catcher was thinking.

“I told Adam beforehand, just gave him a heads up, and he seemed pretty excited about it,” Naylor said. “It was definitely a good sign. I’m excited too.”