November 17, 2023

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

It has been an impressive couple of years for Brady Cerkownyk.

The 20-year-old Etobicoke, Ont., native has gone from being a Mississauga Tiger to a Detroit Tiger, from an admirer of fellow Richview Collegiate Institute alum Joey Votto to a colleague of the slugger in the pro ranks.

And this spring, he put together one of the greatest seasons in junior college history as a Connors State Cowboy.

For that, Cerkownyk has been voted the 2023 Canadian Baseball Network College Player of the Year.

“He came in and had a great year for us,” said Connors State baseball coach, Perry Keith, after the July draft. “Some of these guys are ready physically, some are ready mentally for what it takes to succeed at that level, but Brady’s ready. He’s ready for what it’ll take, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see him in the majors. And that’s why he came here, was to make an opportunity for himself and he capitalized on that. I couldn’t be any prouder of him.”

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Our upcoming batting order:

On deck ... the Canadian Baseball Network All-Canadian First Team and our Honourable Mention list

Next ... our stats package.

Already posted

Canadian Baseball Network college All-Canadian Second Team.

Canadian Baseball Network college All-Canadian Third Team

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Cerkownyk received first-place votes on 46 of the 53 ballots submitted by a pool of voters that includes 22 coaches, from elite programs to colleges on both sides of the border; 16 writers (including eight CBN staffers), nine pro scouts, four executives (including two SIDs) and two ex-players (counting one Olympian).

Cerkownyk becomes the third Connors State Cowboy to win the award. 1B-OF David Mendham (Dorchester, Ont.) took home the honour in 2020 and OF Marcus Knecht (North York, Ont.) was honoured in 2010.

Among National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) players, Cerkownyk ranked first in total bases (199), RBIs (107) and slugging percentage (.985) and second in batting average (.470) and home runs (27).

C Brady Cerkownyk (Etobicoke, Ont.) catching for the Connors State Cowboys. Photo: Matthew Harmon, Connors State.

On top of his CBN award, Cerkownyk was also named to the 2023 NJCAA Division 1 All-American First Team and received All-Region honours. He also made the NJCAA All-Academic Team.

The young slugger was on a summer trip with the Mississauga Tigers in 2022 when he first connected with Keith at Connors State.

“We had a practice at Connors State. I had BP . . . and I guess he [Keith] liked what he saw. He came to watch us the next week in Oklahoma City where we had a tournament and he offered me a scholarship,” Cerkownyk told the Canadian Baseball Network in late July. “And then before our [Mississauga Tigers] fall trip, I accepted it.”

Located in Warner, Okla., Connors State has a long tradition of bringing Canadians into the fold. Big leaguers RHP Jordan Romano (Markham, Ont.), C George Kottaras (Scarborough, Ont.) and OF Jared Young (Prince George, BC) also played at Connors State.

As he was racking up his NJCAA leading numbers, Cerkownyk began noticing more scouts at his games. He knew the Detroit Tigers had strong interest when one of their cross-checkers asked for a meeting with him ahead of the draft.

Following his collegiate season, he played for the Frederick Keys in the MLB Draft League. In one of his pre-draft workouts at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Cerkownyk opened more eyes when he belted four home runs into the train tracks above the Crawford boxes in left field.

But it was the Tigers who would select him in the 15th round of the MLB draft this July thanks largely to a glowing recommendation from area scout Steve Taylor. Cerkownyk signed with the club and reported to the Tigers’ minor league complex in Lakeland, Fla.

It was a dream come true for the Canadian slugger who played his first organized baseball in High Park in Toronto when he was six. His father, Eugene, coached him for much of his youth.

He played his minor ball in High Park and Etobicoke and began catching when he was 14.

Cerkownyk quickly developed into a standout on the diamond and he joined the Ontario Blue Jays when he was 16 and then played three years with the Mississauga Tigers, all under Sean Travers and Greg Byron with Damon Topolie as his catching coach.

Travers says the six-foot Cerkownyk's biggest asset is his athleticism.

“Brady is more of a small athletic guy. I'll tell you who he reminds me a lot of is Russell Martin,” said Travers. “Russell came up as a shortstop, a good athlete and that's kind of like Brady. And they have the same kind of personality, too.”

Travers says Cerkownyk has had good power since the time he started coaching him and the young backstop has consistently impressed defensively.

“People say catchers don't need to run, but nobody is going to complain if they are a good athlete,” said Travers. “He's a 6.8 runner, so he can run and he can really throw. I think the major league average is probably low 80s when they're throwing to second and even when he was in high school, he was throwing 86-87. So, he has a really, really strong arm.”

Travers helped Cerkownyk land at Connors State with coach Keith.

“We've got two big leaguers [Kottaras and Romano] that went to Connors, so we love sending guys to Connors,” said Travers. “And that was one of our first stops during COVID. When everyone else was staying here, we traveled and Perry [Keith] got to see him early and got on him early and it just made a lot of sense. It was the perfect fit for Brady.”

After signing with the big league Tigers, Cerkownyk eventually got into two games with their Rookie-Ball Florida Complex League team before suffering a right knee meniscus tear and undergoing minor surgery.

Cerkownyk hopes to be playing in front of friends and family at Comerica Park in Detroit soon.

“I’d like to get up to the big leagues in the next three or four years, that’s the goal,” Cerkownyk told CBN in late July. “I’d like to get up there early and get a long career in.”

List of past Canadian Baseball Network College Player of the Year winners

2022 _ 1B Matt Coutney (Wetaskiwin Alta), Old Dominion Monarchs

2021 _ INF Tyler Black (Stouffville, Ont.), Wright State Raiders

2020 _ 1B/OF David Mendham (Dorchester, Ont.), Connors State Cowboys

2019 _ LHP Ryan Johnson (Winnipeg, Man.), Lubbock Christian Chaps

2018 _ DH Edouard Julien (Quebec City, Que.), Auburn Tigers

2017 _ OF Christopher Acosta-Tapia (Laval, Que.), Oklahoma Wesleyan Eagles

2016 _ LHP Guillaume Blanchette (St-Constant, Que.), Lubbock Christian Chaparrals

2015 _ 3B Connor Panas (Toronto, Ont.), Canisius Golden Griffins

2014 _ 2B-OF Craig-St. Louis (Gatineau, Que.), Seminole State Trojans

2013 _ LHP Ryan Kellogg (Whitby, Ont.), Arizona State Sun Devils

2012 _ 2B Maxx Tissenbaum (Toronto, Ont.), Stony Brook Seawolves

2011 _ OF Chase Larsson (Vancouver, BC), Cameron Aggies

2010 _ OF Marcus Knecht (North York, Ont.), Connors State Cowboys

2009 _ 3B Jesse Sawyer (Calgary, Alta.), South Dakota State Jackrabbits

2008 _ DH Mike Gosse (Pitt Meadows, BC), Oklahoma Sooners

2007 _ 1B Kevin Atkinson (Surrey, BC), New Mexico Jr. College Thunderbirds

2006 _ OF Jon Baksh (Mississauga, Ont.), Florida Tech Panthers

2005 _ 1B Karl Amonite (Woodslee, Ont.), Auburn Tigers

2004 _ OF Charlie MacFarlane (Lantzville, BC), Cumberland Bulldogs

2003 _ C Aaron McRae (Delta, BC), LSU-Shreveport Pilots

2002 (tie) _ OF Ryan Kenning (North Vancouver, BC), New Mexico State Aggies and RP-SS Jesse Crain (Toronto, Ont.) Houston Cougars

2001 _ LHP Jeff Francis (North Delta, BC), British Columbia Thunderbirds

2000 _ OF Ben Emond (Farnham, Que.), Texas Longhorns

(Bold indicates big-league service time.)