2021 College Top 25

February 20, 2021

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

There was a time -- back in 1999 -- when we began compiling Canadians in College south of the border that players didn’t travel very far south.

Many Canadians played in border states like Washington, Michigan and New York state.

Now, there are 13 Canadians on the rosters or those who have signed or verbally committed to attend Baseball America’s top 25 programs. There are 12 on the current rosters and another one headed to campus down the road.

The top 25 programs rated by the highly-respected Baseball America:

1. Florida

3. Texas Tech Red Raiders

Committed: INF Myles Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.).

Myles is the youngest of the three Naylor brothers. All are former stars with the Mississauga North Tigers and the Ontario Blue Jays. The two older brothers starred with the Canadian Junior National Team.

The eldest, Josh Naylor, went 12th overall to the Miami Marlins, deciding not to attend Texas Tech. Signed by scout Steve Payne, he was given a $2.2 million signing bonus. He was dealt to the San Diego as part of a seven-player deal as the Padres dumped Andrew Cashner, Colin Rea and Tayron Guerrero for right-handers Jarred Cosart and Carter Capps and then prospects Luis Castillo and Naylor.

Middle brother Noah (Bo) Naylor went 29th overall to Cleveland in 2018 and received a $2,578,137 bonus, shunning the Texas A&M Aggies.

In 2020, Josh Naylor was part of seven-player deal along with RHP Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.), Gabriel Arias, Joey Cantillo, Owen Miller and Austin Hedges to Cleveland for Mike Clevinger and Greg Allen. The deal put Josh and Noah together in the same organization.

Currently, Myles plays shortstop, but could eventually move to third base or behind the plate. He has shown to be a good hitter with some pop. He’ll be taller than his brothers. Hopefully coaches and scouts let him grow into his game without the expectations of living up to the accomplishments of his brothers.

5. Virginia Cavaliers.

On roster: OF Marc Lebreux (Sainte-Anne Que.).

Lebreux played for the Academy Baseball Canada and coach Robert Fatal, before moving on to play for Bisons de Saint-Eustache coached by Luc Desgroseilliers. Last spring, he started all 18 games in the outfield in his first season at UVA (15 in right, three in left), during the shortened COVID-19 season. He hit .303 with five doubles and 14 RBIs, reaching base safely his final 15 games of the season (tied for the longest streak of any Cavalier in 2020). He had a team-best, 10-game hit streak ended in the final game of the season

Lebreux’s first hit as a Cavalier was a two-run, two-out single in the top of the eighth in the season-opener against Oklahoma and he reached base five times by going 3-for-5 with four runs scored, two doubles, two walks and three RBIs against UMass Lowell.

Prior to UVA, he spent two seasons with the Seminole State College Trojans. He appeared in 97 games in two seasons with a .408 average and belted nine home runs, then as a sophomore he stole 20 bases while batting .376 (68-for-181) with nine home runs and 57 RBIs.

6. Vanderbilt Commodores.

On roster: OF Cooper Davis (Mississauga, Ont.).

Like the Naylors, Davis played for the Mississauga Norh Tigers and the Ontario Blue Jays.

As a junior, he hit .348 with two doubles, two triples and five RBIs in 18 games, reaching base in 16 contests. He also had a team-high 24 hits and eight multi-hit games. He was 3-for-4 with two stolen bases against Toledo and was ranked the 113th-best, 2020 draft prospect by Perfect Game.

As a sophomore, he hit .331 with seven doubles, two triples and 19 RBIs in 35 games. He hit .371 with two outs and had at least one hit in first nine games and in 11 of first 12 games. Davis was felled by injury and only made three appearances after April 14. His best outings were two doubles and three RBIs facing Dayton, plus three RBIs in SEC opener at Texas A&M.

As a freshman, he made three starts in nine games before a season-ending injury. His first collegiate hit and RBI came against Presbyterian. He had only one strikeout in 11 at-bats.

Davis was a 25th-round draft pick of the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2017 draft. His honours include: Perfect Game Canada/Puerto Rico Region High School Senior first team in 2007, playing for the Canadian Junior National Team in 2015-17, PG 2016 Underclass first team and Baseball Canada U15 championship MVP.

8. Mississippi State Bulldogs

On roster: RHP Eric Cerantola (Oakville, Ont.).

The Great Lake Canadians grad is expected to be the top Canadian drafted this summer. He’s the No. 2 arm on a deep Bulldogs’ starting staff.

Last spring he was 1-1 with a 3.18 ERA (No. 2 among qualifying pitchers) in four starts striking out 22 in 17 innings. All four of his starts were in the series finales as he tied for the team lead in starts (four). He scored his win against Wright State and allowed three-or-fewer earned runs in all four starts.

Facing Wright State, he tossed four scoreless innings to earn the victory, scattering two hits and walking three while fanning eight. Against Oregon State, he whiffed six in five innings in a no decision. Later against Long Beach State, he permitted four runs - two earned - on eight hits in five innings, while walking two and striking out four. Finally, against Quinnipiac he gave up three runs on four hits in three innings, striking out four and walking one in the no decision.

In 2019, he was 3-0 with a 4.30 ERA striking out 21 in 14 2/3 innings, appearing in 11 games. Cerantola was chosen in the 30th round of the 2018 draft by the Tampa Bay Rays.

10. LSU Tigers.

On roster: RHP Theo Millas (Burnaby, BC)

The 6-foor-4 freshman pitched for the Langley Blaze and the Canadian Junior National Team.

A year ago, he was the 199th ranked player by Perfect Game and in 2019 was an Under Armour All-American.

For coach Paul Mainieri, Millas is the first Canadian he recruited to LSU. The last two Canadian pitchers he recruited (for Notre Dame) were Ryan Dempster (Gibsons, BC) and John Axford (Port Dover, Ont.), who both spent several years in the majors. Said Mainieri: “Theo has pitched in big games and on big stages all over the world. With those type of experiences, it’s tough to imagine he will be intimidated by other SEC environments.”

Millas impressed the LSU recruiters on Langley’s trips to Arizona and Jupiter. Millas threw five scoreless against the Braves Scout Team against Jordan Walker. The Blaze and the favoured Braves battled to a 0-0 tie, knocking them out of the playoffs. His audience in the 5 o’clock showcase game drew 500 plus scouts and recruiters.

18. South Carolina Gameocks.

On roster: 1B David Mendham (Dorchester, Ont.) and OF Noah Myers (Wyoming, Ont.).

Both followed familiar routes to Columbia, S.C. Former Ontario National Mendham was at Connors State, while Myers, a Great Lake Canadians grad, was at Wabash Valley and then both moved on to USC.

Mendham played in Florida, Oklahoma and Georgia before South Carolina. He attended Indian River State College in Stuart, Fla. in 2017, preparing for the spring of 2018. After Mendham arrived, so too did Hurricane Irma, the first Category 5 hurricane of 2017. Roughly 6.5 million residents were ordered to leave. Eventually he returned home.

After transferring to Connors State, he earned Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian Third Team honours in 2019. And the next year he hit .493 average with a 1.401 OPS to earn Canadian Baseball Network First Team honours as well as Canadian Baseball Network college Player of the Year in 2020. He had 54 first-place votes, finishing ahead of RHP Logan Hofmann (Muenster, Sask.) of Northwestern State, who finished with 42.

Last year, Myers played in all 16 games (10 starts) in the outfield, hitting .324 with six RBIs, one double, two triples and seven stolen bases. He went 4-for-4 with three RBIs in a win over The Citadel, had two hits in a win over North Florida, then knocked in two against Cornell and stole two bases in wins against both Clemson and Cornell.

He was selected in the 30th round of the 2019 MLB draft by the Blue Jays. In two seasons at Wabash, he earned NJCAA All-America second team honors and was named All-Region and All-Conference in 2019. He hit .376 with eight home runs, 17 doubles and a school-record 77 stolen bases. As a freshman, he batted .318 with 14 doubles, five home runs and 21 stolen bases. He hit .395 with two home runs, 33 RBIs and 11 stolen bases in 2017.

20. Michigan Wolverines.

On the roster: LHP Connor O’Halloran (Mississauga, Ont.).

The former Ontario Terrier is a 6-foot-1, 170-pound freshman who was a member of the Canada Junior National Team (2018-20). He pitched at the 2018 U18 World Cup qualifiers in Panama and the next year when Canada played at the U18 World Cup in South Korea

His brother, INF Ryan O’Halloran (Mississauga, Ont.) plays at Orange Coast College, just like his father Greg O’Halloran (Mississauga, Ont.) who made the majors with the Florida Marlins.

21. UC Santa Barbara Gauchos.

On the roster: Jason Willow (Victoria, BC).

The former Victoria Mariner saw action in 12 games in 2020, compiling a slash line of .213/.288/.234. He had an eight-game hitting streak during the season, going 10-for-32 (.312) over that span. He also had multi-hit games against Abilene Christian (2-for-4) and Illinois-Chicago (2-for-5) and doubled against Abilene Christian.

In 2019, he was in 43 games as both an infielder and outfielder as he slashed his way to a .267/.378/.392 line. He added six doubles, three triples and 20 RBIs with five stolen bases. His only home run decided a 4-3 win over UC Davis. He had three hits and drove in a pair against UNLV, as well as a season-high three RBIs in a win over Hartford. For his efforts, he gained an All-Big West Honorable Mention.

Before the 2018 season, he was named as the No. 108 player on Perfect Game’s Top College Freshmen list. He started all 46 games in which he appeared, serving as the primary third basemen, hitting .245 with six doubles, one home run, 17 RBIs, and slashed .245/.306/.303. He had eight multi-hit games, recording his first career hit against San Diego State. He went 3-for-4 with a double in a 15-5 rout over Dartmouth, his first homer was against Pepperdine and he plated a season-high four runs against Penn State.

Willow was chosen in the 24th round of the 2017 draft by the Baltimore Orioles.

In 2016, he was named League MVP and All-BCPBL First Team, batting .356 for Victoria over 25 games as a junior.

With the Canadian Junior National Team at 2017 U-18 World Cup, he hit safely in all nine of the team’s games. Canada lost the third-place game to Japan to place fourth. He was 2-for-6, with a double, triple, and three RBIs against Italy and 3-for-4, with a home run and two RBIs facing Nicaragua.

23. Oklahoma

On the roster: RHP Ben Abram (Georgetown, Ont.).

The 6-foot-7, former Ontario Terrier made four appearances and one start during the COVID-19 shortened spring in 2020. He was 1-0 with a 0.90 ERA, recording 13 strikeouts and allowing eight hits, one run and three walks in 10 innings. He pitched five scoreless innings with five strikeouts against Texas Southern, struck out four batters in two innings facing Arkansas-Pine Bluff and had four whiffs, allowing two hits in two innings facing UT Arlington.

In 2019, he was selected to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team, appearing in 15 games (13 starts) as he went 6-4 with a 4.24 ERA and combined on one shutout, pitching 63 2/3 innings, while registering 52 strikeouts and walking only 16. Abram went at least five innings in seven starts. He fanned five, walked none and allowed one earned run on four hits in five innings in his debut against Dallas Baptist, he pitched four scoreless for a win playing Arkansas-Pine Bluff, worked six innings, striking out seven against Columbia and put up six zeros against UT Arlington. He also allowed just one run in six frames playing New Mexico, had a season-high nine strikeouts and gave up a run and a walk on three hits against Oral Roberts and he whiffed four, permitting just one run in six innings against Texas Southern.

In the summer of 2019, he pitched for the Canadian Junior National Team in Peru. He also worked for Team Canada in the 18U championships in Panama in November 2018. He was selected in the 37th round of the 2018 draft by the San Diego Padres.

24. Central Florida

On the roster: LHP Keegan Pulford-Thorpe (Newmarket, Ont.).

The former Toronto Mets lefty, Pulford-Thorpe did not make an appearance during 2020 campaign.

Pulford-Thorpe pitched for Canadian Junior National Team on the bronze-winning COPABE U18 Pan Am Championships squad in Panama in 2018. He earned Perfect Game Preseason All-American Canada/Puerto Rico – All-Region First Team honours.

He was selected in the 33rd round of the 2019 draft by the San Diego Padres. The lefty has good blood lines: his father, Paul Thorpe, pitched seven seasons in the Baltimore Orioles system (rookie-class Bluefield, class-A Daytona Beach, class-A Newark, class-A Hagerstown, class-A Miami, double-A Charlotte and triple-A Rochester) winning 30 and saving 59. His grandfather Clarke Pulford, the excellent coach at Northern Secondary School is the brother of Hall of Famer Bobby Pulford.

25. Alabama Crimson Tide.

On the roster: OF Owen Diodati (Niagara Falls, Ont.) and LHP Antoine Jean (Montreal, Que.).

A Great Lakes Canadian grad, Diodati hit .309 with three doubles, a triple and five home runs in 17 games, including 14 starts in 2020, adding 22 RBIs. He led his team in RBIs, contributed seven multi-RBI games to pace the Crimson Tide and was ranked second on the club in home runs.

He led SEC freshmen in RBIs and slugging (.673), tying for the lead in home runs and walks among first-year players. He led the Tide offence on opening weekend against Northeastern, batting .667 (6-for-9) with a double, triple, three home runs, eight RBIs, six runs and four walks. He had two home runs in the season opener, the first freshman to homer in a season-opener since 2016.

Diodati’s honours include First Team All-Canadian on the Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian team, freshman All-American from Collegiate Baseball News, SEC Co-Freshman of the Week, SEC First-Year Academic honour roll and preseason All-SEC Second Team by the league coaches

Heading into his sophomore season, he has been selected as an NCBWA Preseason Third Team All-American.

Heading into his draft year he was No. 363 on Baseball America’s Top 400 draft prospects and No. 303 on Perfect Game’s Top 500 combined draft list. He played for Canada in the 2019 18U World Cup along with fellow signee LHP Antoine Jean. Diodati was drafted in the 29th round of the 2019 draft by the Toronto Blue Jays.

Jean pitched for the ABC and coach Robert Fatal. In his only one game for Les Orioles de Montréal in the 2016 playoff, he hurled a complete game, seven innings, allowing two hits and one run, while striking out four. He had a perfect game for 6 1/3 innings.

Jean gained freshman All-America recognition from Collegiate Baseball News at season’s end and earned Second Team All-Canadian honours from the Canadian Baseball Network

In 2020, Jean tied for the team lead in wins with a 3-0 record across his four starts with a 3.18 ERA fanning 17, compared to three walks -- tied for the third-fewest in the SEC among qualifying pitchers. He picked up the win in his Alabama debut against Northeastern, working four innings and allowing four hits and three runs -- two earned -- with a walk and two strikeouts

He was rated the No. 8 prospect from Canada by Baseball America in 2019 and the No. 5 lefty and No. 21 player overall in Canada by Perfect Game. Jean played for Team Canada in the 2019 18U World Cup and was selected in the 17th round of the 2019 draft by the Minnesota Twins.