By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

We’ve heard the refrain since about 1999 when we started tracking Canadian college movement south of the border:

“Yeah but where do they go? Small-time programs? No one goes to a major program.”

Maybe some are better staying at home and we know the universities are all excellent. And we know everyone who heads south is not a success story, yet we have noticed a change since we began tracking in 1999. Rather than most high school players going to schools in Michigan and New York state, they are now headed to schools in Texas, California and Kentucky.

Perfect Game’s top 100 recruiting class of high schoolers for universities in the spring of 2019 has 10 incoming Canadian freshmen.

They will join 29 Canucks already on the rosters of the top 100 teams.

And looking at the Letter of Intent page another 10 -- and counting -- are set to join the top 100 teams in 2020 or 2021

All in all, that’s 49 Canadians listed on the rosters of schools Perfect Game has ranked among 2019 top recruiting classes.

OF Dasan Brown (Mississauga, Ont.) of the Ontario Blue Jays is the Canuck with the highest rated program, the No. 7 ranked Texas A&M Aggies.

Top recruiting classes for 2019, with Canadians included:

Rank School HS Commits Top 100 Points Avg Player

1. Vanderbilt 19 8 182 9.58

7. Texas A&M 15 4 106 7.07

OF Dasan Brown (Mississauga, Ont.) Ontario Blue Jays and Canadian Junior National Team.

-Earned Perfect Game Preseason Underclassmen All-American High Honorable Mention and Honorable Mention in 2017

-Named to the All-Tournament team at the 2018 World Wood Bat Association National Championship and World Championship, and Ways to Play powered by MLB and Perfect Game as a junior

-Competed with 2018 Future Stars National Trials Championship and the 2018 Marucci World Series Championship

-He competed with the Canadian National Junior Team and was named to the New Balance Future Stars Series in 2018

-Brown elected to the 2018 All-Star Team at T12, the annual showcase of Canada’s best college-eligible players and he was a national finalist in the 2012 Aquafina MLB Pitch, Hit and Run competition in the 9-10 year old division

-Said recruiting coordinator Justin Seely: “Dasan is an electric athlete. He may be the fastest guy we have ever signed. Dasan has made incredible strides as an offensive player through great work habits and the will to maximize his potential. He has great potential as a top of the order player.”

25. Alabama 12 2 82 6.83

C-INF Owen Diodati (Niagara Falls, Ont.) Great Lakes Canadians and Canadian Junior National Team.

A 6-foot-3, 210 pounder catcher, Diodati is the second ranked and No. 10 player overall in Ontario by Perfect Game. He received honorable mention recognition in 2018 for the Canada All-America squad from PG. He played on the Canadian Junior National Team and with Great Lakes Canadians during his prep career. Participated in the Tournament 12 presented by New Era at Rogers Centre on three occasions. Diodati was born Aug. 17, 2001, is the son of Ryan and Jody Diodati with one brother, Adrian, and one sister, Alexis. His pop Ryan, played college ball at Niagara University and grandfather, Doug Rombough, was a centre in the NHL for four seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders and Minnesota North Stars.

31. Kentucky 14 1 71 5.07

INF Jaden Brown (Mississaauga, Ont.) of the Ontario Blue Jays and Canadian Junior National Team.

He was selected to play in the 2018 Perfect Game All-American Classic and along the way ran a 6.64 60-yard dash. He competed in the Underclass All American Games and the Jr. National Showcase in 2017. Brown earned Perfect Game High Honorable Mention in 2017 on Underclassmen All American Teams.

He earned spots on the Showcase Top Prospect List in 2017 at the Jr. National Showcase, PG Underclass All American Games, Jr. National Showcase and PG Underclass All American Games. In 2018 he was again on the Showcase Top Prospect Team National Showcase.

Brown earned All Tournament Team honours with the Ontario Blue Jays at the 2018 World Wood Bat National Championship and was selected to the PG Preseason Underclassmen All American Team. PG rated him No. 1 in Canada after his outings at Junior National and PG Underclass All American Games.

32. Oregon State 13 0 65 5.00

OF Micah McDowell (Coldbrook, NS) Okotok Dawgs and Canadian Junior National Team, plus INF Cesar Valero (Calgary, Alta.) Okotoks Dawgs and Canadian Junior National Team.

McDowell was recognized as a tournament All-Star OF at the T12 Tournament in 2018 batting .333 (6-for-18) with two doubles, two triples, an RBI and he was 7-for-8 stealing bases. In 2017, McDowell was selected as MVP of the T12 tourney when he batted .308 with four stolen bases. At that year’s Canada Games he batted .333 with three steals.

The 6-foot-2, 180-pounder earned MVP of the bronze medal game at the 2018 Canada Cup and hit .471 with six stolen bases. McDowell played for coach Tyler Hollick with the Dawgs, playing three years, at short and in the outfield. McDowell earned All-Star honors at the 2016 15U Canadian Nationals batting .500 with two doubles and five stolen bases.

Born Jan. 27, 2001 in Kentville, NS, to Christine and David McDowell. he has one brother, Jonah.

Valero entered his grade 12 season ranked as the top prospect in Canada by the Canadian Baseball Network. He was selected to play in the Under Armour All- America Game at Wrigley Field.

He drove in a run and walked seven times in six games at the T12 -- much like Noah Naylor the year before when pitchers didn’t want to throw him a strike. He played for the Royals team at the 2018 Area Code Games. In 2017, he had six walks in five games at the T12 and also played in 10 games at the T12 in 2016.

Valero was born Nov. 4, 2001 in Maracaibo, Venz. His parents, Maria Sanchez and Cesar Valero, moved to Canada when he was 10 years old. He has one sister, Verona, and a brother, Gonzalo. The 6-foot-2, 190 pounder played for Allen Cox with the Okotoks Dawgs.

51. Purdue 13 0 47 3.62

LHP Adam Macko (Stony Plain, Alta.) Vauxhall Academy Jets.

He earned Underclass All American High Honorable Mention and was one of the first Canucks in this draft class to surpass 90 mph.

Macko is a Perfect Game regular winning All Tournament Team berths in 2018 at the 17U PG Summer Showdown Protected by G-Form; the Rawlings Southeast 018 WWBA 2019 Grads or 17U nationals; 17U National Championship Qualifier; 17U Perfect Game East Cobb Invitational and the Rawlings Southeast 16U National Summer Showdown Protected by G-Form.

56. UCF 13 0 44 3.38

LHP Keegan Pulford-Thorpe (Newmarket, Ont.) Toronto Mets and Canadian Junior National Team.

Pulford-Thorpe’s father, Paul Thorpe, pitched seven seasons in the Baltimore Orioles system at rookie-class Bluefield, class-A Daytona Beach, class-A Newark, class-A Hagerstown, class-A Miami double-A Charlotte triple-A Rochester and double-A Hagerstown going 30-30 with a 3.32 ERA and 59 saves in 311 games. Pulford-Thorpe’s grandfather is Hall of Famer and four-time Stanley Cup winner Bobby Pulford.

He earned All Tournament Team with the Toronto Mets 17U at the 2017 WWBA National Qualifier. And Pulford-Thorpe earned 2018 Preseason Underclass All American Honorable Mention honours.

64. Penn State 11 0 34 3.09

RHP Braden Halladay, Cavalry Christian in Clearwater and Canadian Junior National Team.

Born in Toronto and now residing in Odessa, Fla., he heads north this winter. He pitched twice for Canada, including a scoreless outing facing the Toronto Blue Jays -- the same team his father Roy Halladay used to pitch for on the way to Cooperstown, N.Y.

He earned 2018 Preseason Underclass All American Honorable Mention honours.

Pitching for the Dunedin Panthers he earned All Tournament Team honours in the 2015 14U WWBA East Memorial Day Classic

With the Florida Burn in 2019, he gained All Tournament Team honours at the 2016 WWBA 16U East Memorial Day Classic, the 2016 WWBA 15U National Championship, the 2016 15U BCS Finals, the 2017 16U National Championship, the 16U BCS National Championship, the 16U Tucci Lumber Wood Bat Challenge and the 17U BCS National Championship.

89. Washington State 6 1 27 4.50

RHP David Rhodes (White Rock, BC) of the Langley Blaze and the Seattle Select.

He was drafted in the 40th round by the Seattle Mariners in 2018. He earned 2017 Perfect Game Under Class Third Team honours and in 2016 gained PG Underclass Honourable Mention. Rhodes pitched in 2017 Area Code Games for Kansas City Royals scout team.

96. UNC-Charlotte 10 0 26 2.60

3B David McCabe (Courtice, Ont.) of the Ontario Blue Jays and the Ontario Astros.

He earned Underclass All American honours at 2017 PG Top Prospect Games at TCU, as well as earning Preseason All American Canada/Puerto Rico Honourable Mention as the All-Region Teams.

McCabe gained All Tournament Team honours with Team Ontario 18U at the 2017 WWBA National Qualifier. He was also on All Tournament Team with the Ontario Blue Jays at the 2018 WWBA World championship. And he also earned a spot on the Spring Showcase Top Prospect List in 2017.

Already there

(Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors)

1. Vanderbilt Commodores

Cooper Davis (Mississauga, Ont.) Ontario Blue Jays and Canadian Junior National Team.

As a freshman, Davis batted .182 playing in nine games. He had four RBIs and was 1-for-1 attempting to steal. He had a .468 OPS.

6. Mississippi State

RHP Eric Cerantola (Oakville, Ont.), Great Lake Canadians and Canadian Junior National Team.

Cerantola was a 30th round pick of the Tampa Bay Rays in June. The 6-foot-3, 180 pounder born in Montreal, Que. was drafted by OHL’s Owen Sound Attack in the eighth round in 2016.

He earned Perfect Game Preseason Underclass All American Honorable Mention honours. He also pitched for the Ontario DiamondBacks, Oakville A’s and coaches Tom Arnold, Shane Davis, DJ Bernard, Tyler Moe and Richard Gamble.

This fall, Cerantola allowed one run in each of his two innings of work, but held the lead for Team White, allowing two hits and two walks with one strikeout. Team White evened the best-of-three Fall World Series with Team Maroon with a 9-4 win.

11. Auburn Tigers

INF Edouard Julien (Quebec City, Que.) Academy Baseball Canada and Canadian Junior National Team.

He hit .275 with 17 home runs and 69 RBIs in 62 games to break Frank Thomas’ freshman program record that had stood since 1987 and his RBI total were the most in the Southeastern Conference as well as the most among freshmen nationally. His 17 home runs were tied for second among freshmen nationally and the most by an Auburn player since 2010.

Julien earned Canadian Baseball Network college Player of the Year. As well, he won all SEC All-Freshman Team, Second Team ABCA All-South Region Honors, as well as being named a Freshman All-American by Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, D1 Baseball, NCBWA and Perfect Game/Rawlings. He was also named to the SEC All-Tournament Team, the Raleigh Regional All-Tournament Team after going 7-for-13 with six runs, two home runs and six RBIs in the three games.

Julien played for Les Diamants de Québec and coach Dominik Walsh.

16. Oklahoma 14 2 91 6.50

RHP Ben Abram, Georgetown, Ont., Oklahoma (OK) Ontario Terriers and Canadian Junior National Team.

The 6-foot-8, 240 pounder was selected in the 37th round by the San Diego Padres and scout Murray Zuk (Souris, Man.) in June. He pitched for coaches Dean Dicenzo (East Hamilton, Ont.), Scott Vandevalk (Georgetown, Ont.) and Greg Hamilton (Ottawa, Ont.).

Before that he pitched for the DBacks Langley Blaze and Georgetown Eagles for coaches Doug Mathieson, Jamie Bodaly and Ian McLaughlin.

He pitched 5 1/3 innings allowing four runs -- two earned -- on seven hits and a walk, while striking out eight facing DSL Pirates and he had three scoreless facing first and second year Blue Jays allowing three hits, striking out six in St. Pete’s.

25. Alabama 12 2 82 6.83

INF Daniel Carinci (Ajax, Ont.), Toronto Mets and Canadian Junior National Team, OF Justin King (Okotoks, Alta.) Okotoks Dawgs/Indian Hills Falcons and INF Kobe Morris (Victoria, BC) Victoria Eagles.

King batted .316 with 15 doubles, seven triples, 13 homers and 60 RBIs. He had a 1.154 OPS in 56 games.

As a freshman at IHCC in 2017, he finished the year with five home runs and a .357 average. Overcoming a wrist injury, King played summer ball for the collegiate Dawgs. In 2016, King played 14 games with the collegiate Dawgs, hitting six doubles while posting a .377 average.

He earned the top prospect at the Perfect Game USA Uncommitted Showcase in 2015 and was selected the Most Valuable Player of the varsity baseball team as a high school freshman. He is the son of Cameron and Corey King and has one brother, Brayden.

Carinci was tabbed the No. 4 shortstop and 30th player overall in Ontario by Perfect Game and received honorable mention recognition in 2018 for the Canada/Puerto Rico All-America squad from PG. He attended Pickering High in Ajax earned MVP honours from his team and Athlete of the Year

Carinci played on the Canadian Junior National Team and his uncle, Jan Carinci, played football at the University of Missouri and nine seasons in the Canadian Football League with the BC Lions and the Toronto Argos,

Morris earned Canadian Baseball Network First Team honours in 2018 and Second Team in 2017, recorded two impressive seasons at Crowder College in Neosho, Mo.

He hit .408 with 11 home runs, 65 RBIs and 77 runs scored in 56 games as a sophomore as well as 16 doubles, two triples along with 50 walks and seven stolen bases for the Roughriders.

Morris appeared in 66 games as a freshman, batting .364 with nine homers, 65 RBIs and 56 runs scored, with 15 doubles and three triples, while walking 32 times. He was named to the JUCO World Series All-Tournament Team while also earning first team all-region accolades his freshman year.

He played for coach Anthony Pluta and attended Spectrum Community School in Victoria, BC, where he was selected as a First Team All-Star and was Spectrum’s Best Defensive Player as a junior. Morris played in the Canada Cup, earning gold in the process. A two-sport athlete who also competed in basketball for the Thunder. The son of Tim and Tracey Morris, he has two sisters, Kayla Mazur and Taylor Morris.

31. Kentucky 14 1 71 5.07

INF Elliott Curtis (Waterloo, Ont.) Ontario Terriers.

Last spring at Columbia State he batted .370 with 15 doubles, two triples, 11 homers and 64 RBIs. Curtis had a 1.118 OPS in 50 games.

He went 24-for-25 stealing bases, which ranked him tied for third on the Canadian list, tied with Davenport’s Zac Wilson and Mineral Area’s Caleb Feuerstake.

33. North Carolina State 12 1 67 5.58

RHP Mathieu Gauthier (Candiac, Que.) Academy Baseball Canada and Canadian Junior National Team.

Gauthier appeared in 17 games for the Wolf Pack making four starts going 0-0 with a 4.01 ERA. He walked 15 and struck out 34 in 42 2/3 innings. He held opponents to a .248 batting average.

He is one of three pitchers to toss a no hitter during Tournament 12.

35. Maryland 13 1 66 5.08

IF Taylor Wright (Vancouver, BC) North Shore Twins.

Wright batted .230 in 47 games with nine doubles, a triple, two homers and 25 RBIs. He had a .652 OPS and was 11-for-16 stealing bases.

In 2017, at Colorado Northwestern he hit .333 with 17 doubles, two triples, five homers and 22 RBIs. He had a .997 OPS in 52 games and was 23-for-27 on the bases.

37. Virginia Tech 16 0 63 3.94

C Luke Horanski (Dugald, Man.) of the Langley Blaze and LHP Nick Vickers (Calgary, Alta.) Okotoks Dawgs and Colby Trojans.

Horanski was named to the 2018 Johnny Bench Award Watch List and the All-ACC Academic Team. He led the team with a .314 batting average with 44 hits, including 13 doubles (second on the team), four home runs, and a team-high .493 slugging percentage. He had one career walk-off RBI with a 10th-inning, bases-loaded single against Old Dominion. He started all 39 games played -- 29 behind the plate, 10 as DH. He batted in the No. 3 spot 25 games, finishing with 12 multi-hit games, including three games with three and was second on the team with nine multi-RBI games, including three games with three.

He had a season-best 11-game hitting streak, finishing with a seven gamer, and reaching base 11 straight games, adding 27 RBIs. He led the team with in both game-winning runs scored and game-winning RBI, notching four each. In the ACC, at the end of the regular season, ranked 18th in batting average and eighth in on-base percentage

Before Tech he spent the 2017 season at Cisco JC and the prior two years at Creighton (2015-16). At Cisco, he was a First Team All-Conference as a catcher after playing in 40 games and finishing fourth on the team in batting with a .356 average and second in both on-base percentage (.500) and slugging percentage (.526). He dad 36 hits, including nine doubles, a triple and two home runs, and 19 RBIs. He fanned 12 times in 101 at-bats, the fewest on the team of players with at least 80 at-bats.

At Creighton, played in 18 games and made 11 starts at catcher as a freshman in 2015 with three doubles, knocking in five runs. He was injured in 2016. Hornaski was a member of Canada’s Junior National Team under coach Greg Hamilton and an All-Tournament catcher at the 18U Pan American Baseball Confederation Championship in 2014. He helped the team to the 2015 IBAF 18U World Cup.

Vickers is coming off a red shirted season. Before Virginia Tech, he was with the Colby Trojans in 2017 and Northeastern JC in 2016. At Colby, he appeared in 13 games with nine starts (fourth-most on team). He posted a 4-6 record after tossing 60 1/3 innings and holding opponents to a .169 batting average leading the conference. He was also tops on the team in strikeouts (87, fourth in the conference), strikeouts per nine innings (12.98, led conference) and ERA (3.58, ninth). He threw at least six innings in six starts, including a season-best 7 2/3 versus Fort Scott. He struck out at least five batters eight times, including more than 10 three times. Vickers Struck out 13 twice: a one-hitter against Butler and Fort Scott contest.

At Northeastern, he appeared in seven games with one start pitching 18 2/3 innings and fanning out 14 batters. He was 0-2 with a 9.16 ERA. He was a member of Canada’s Junior National Team under coach Greg Hamilton and played for Team Alberta for three seasons. He was born Feb. 6, 1997 in Calgary, to Maxine and Lindsay Vickers. He has an older sister, Katie.

51. Purdue Boilermakers 13 0 48 3.69

OF Brett Bass (Abbotsford, BC) Abbotsford Cardinals and Owen Jansen (Oakville, Ont.) of the Ontario Blue Jays

Bass earned Perfect Game Preseason All American, All Region First Team honours for Canada/Puerto Rico. Playing for the Dbacks Scout Team he also was named to the All Tournament Team at 2017 Perfect Game West MLK Championship (Upperclass).

At the Camelback Ranch for the MLK in Phoenix, Ariz., Bass hit .400 (4-for-10) with one RBI and an .800 OPS. Bass was ranked 104th on the top 108 incoming freshman in the Big Ten.

Jansen played for coach Mike Steed and was selected to play in T12 in 2015. Owen Bryce Hendrik Jansen’s favourite team is the Toronto Blue Jays and his favourite player is Jose Altuve.

Jansen batted .107 with two doubles and five RBIs in 28 games, while compiling a .538 OPS. Jansen delivered a two-out, three-run double to cap Purdue’s four-run bottom of the first in a 9-0 fall ball win against Parkland. His gapper to right-centre was a near carbon copy of his two-run double that was the difference in a 2-1 win vs. Michigan in the home finale at Alexander in May

52. Indiana 13 0 47 3.62

INF-RP Matt Lloyd (Okotoks, Alta.) Okotoks Dawgs and Canadian Junior National Team.

Lloyd was voted to the Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian Second Team as a reliever and the Third Team as the DH.

He finished with a 4-2 won-loss record and seven saves, Lloyd had a 1.54 ERA walking five and striking out 22 in 23 1/3 innings. Of his 15 outings, 11 were scoreless against:

Lloyd hit .275 with 15 doubles, a triple, nine homers and 41 RBIs with an .814 OPS in 59 games. He earned Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian team First Team honours at closer DH in 2017.

54. Xavier 15 0 45 3.00

Matt Warkentin (Leamington, Ont.) Great Lake Canadians.

He earned BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll -- batting .579 (11-for-19) in four games against Eastern Kentucky and Georgetown -- and made the conference’s All-Academic Team. He led the team and conference with 14 homers batting .252 and driving in 40.

Warkentin made 54 starts in first season with the program homering against Villanova, Butler, three times against St. John’s series, Sacred Heart, Miami, Eastern Kentucky, Southern, Indiana State, Miami, Louisville and Presbyterian.

He transferred to Xavier from Johnson County after starting his college career at San Francisco, where he played in 35 games and made eight starts as a freshman. Also made 10 appearances on the mound, striking out six in 11 innings of relief. At Johnson County he hit .359 with 16 homers and 70 RBIs for nationally-ranked program. For the Great Lake Canadians he hit .375 with three home runs and 28 RBIs.

55. Washington 11 0 45 4.09

RHP Josh Burgmann (Nanaimo, BC) Vauxhall Academy Jets and Canadian Junior National Team and LHP Jack DeCooman (North Vancouver, BC) North Shore Twins and Canadian Junior National Team.

Burgmann was 2-2 with a 3.19 ERA in 16 games, making one start, returning from Tommy John surgery the year before (March 22, 2017). He registered wins against Cal, gaining up first college win, throwing final five scoreless in 4-3 win. He allowed four hits and two walks, while striking out five. He pitched 2 1/3 innings of relief against Coastal Carolina in an 11-6 win.

Eight of his 16 appearances were scoreless, stranding 7-of-12 inherited runners. Opponents hit .398 against him over in 31 innings pitched. He had scoreless outings against Arizona State (twice), Seattle, Oregon, USC, East Carolina, California and Utah.

Burgmann was selected in the 30th round by St. Louis in the 2016 draft. He earned 2016 Rawlings Perfect Game Honorable Mention All-American Team as well as the Canada/Puerto Rico All Region 1st Team pitching for the Canadian Junior National Team (2014-16) and Team BC 18U from (2013-15). His parents are Ron and Carla Burgmann and he has a sister, Sommer.

As a freshman last spring, DeCooman was 0-1 with a 3.38 ERA in nine games making three starts, fanning 12, walking 11 in 18 2/3 innings. DeCooman registered two scoreless outings in the post-season 1 1/3 innings against Oregon State in the College World Series and stranding two runners at Super Regional at CS Fullerton, recording an out in the ninth.

He made his start facing Portland and was charged with loss (two runs on four hits and a walk in three innings).

He also had scoreless outings of 1 1/3 against UCLA, worked four scoreless facing Seattle and one scoreless against Sacramento State. As a high schooler he was named to the 2016 Perfect Game All-American Honorable Mention and played on the Canadian Junior National Team from 2015-2017. His parents are Julie, who swam at Penn State, and Johnny, and he has brothers, Jed and Jerg.

58. Missouri 11 0 42 3.82

OF Zach Diewert , Chamainus, BC, Mid-Island Pirates

Diewert 2018 season was served as a medical red shirt. He transferred to Missouri Polk State College. He injured his shoulder moving furniture and after a few practices required arthroscopic surgery on a partially-torn labrum in his left shoulder.

At Polk State he hit .291 with seven home runs and 34 RBIs in 2017 and batted .315 with 14 home runs and 78 RBIs during his two-year career.

57. Liberty 14 0 43 3.07

RHP Noah Skirrow (Stoney Creek, Ont.) Tristate Arsenal 18U Prime and the Ontario Blue Jays.

He was 4-3 with a 4.57 ERA in 15 games, making 14 starts. Skirrow walked 42 and fanned 77 in 67 innings. Opponents hit .223 against him.

Skirrow earned 2017 Perfect Game All-Region Canada/Puerto Rico All-American honours. He made the 17U WWBA National Championship All-Tournament team in 2016, as well as being Pitcher of the Year for the 2016 Hamilton Cardinals and Offensive Player of the Year for the Cardinals in 2015.

Skirrow pitched for the Ontario Blue Jays and Great Lake Canadians, but credits Tri-State Arsenal for getting him south.

59. UC Santa Barbara 12 0 41 3.42

INF Jason Willow (Victoria, BC) Victoria Mariners and Canadian Junior National Team.

Willow hit .245 with six doubles, a homer and 17 RBIs as a freshman. He had a .609 OPS in 46 games.

He was Canada’s best hitter at the U-18 World Cup tournament hitting safely in all nine of the team’s games. Canada reached the third-place game, losing 8-1 to Japan to place fourth in the tournament. His best games were going 2-for-6 with a double, triple, three RBIs against Italy and 3-for-4, with a home run and two RBIs facing Nicaragua.

Willow was selected in the 24th round in the 2017 draft by the Baltimore Orioles, the highest-drafted member of UCSB’s 2018 recruit class. With the Victoria Mariners he hit .394 – the second-highest average in the entire league – with a .492 on-base percentage and .644 slugging percentage. He hit .375 in three postseason games earning BC Premier League MVP and All-BCPBL First Team honours.

65. Fresno State 7 1 33 4.71

RHP Nik Cardinal (Bonnyville, Alta.) Okotoks Dawgs, Prairie Baseball Academy Dawgs, Mesa Thunderbirds and Allan Hancock Bulldogs.

In 2018 he earned All-League honors in the California Community College Athletic Association and Gold Glove honors. Cardinal went 4-4 with a save, in 14 starts working 84 innings with 72 strikeouts and a 5.79 ERA. He pitched at the Prairie Baseball Academy earning All-League honors. He pitched seven innings in nine games for Mesa Community College in 2016.

Cardinal helped Alberta finish second at the Canada Cup in 2014 and pitched at Rogers Centre during Tournament 12.

67. College of Charleston 13 0 33 2.54

1B Ari Sechopoulos (Windsor, Ont.) of the Windsor Selects.

He hit .273 with six doubles, a triple, nine home runs and 20 RBIs. He .961 OPS last spring. Sechopoulos led the team slugging .591 percentage. He was second on the team and fifth in the CAA in home runs.

Some of his best outings came when he went 2-for-3 with a double and a solo homer against Southeast Missouri, a solo shot over the right field scoreboard in a 6-0 shut out at Kansas State, clubbed a two-run homer in a 5-1 win over William & Mary, drove in two with a solo home run and an eighth-inning suicide squeeze facing James Madison, against Northeastern he homered to right, hit a ninth-inning home run over the 25-foot wall in right at Georgia Southern, drove a walk-off double to right center to complete a sweep of Delaware, ripped two doubles and drove in one run at Towson, tagged a three-run home run to right center at UNCW, was 2-for-4 with an RBI in a 6-5 win at UNCW, had two hits, including a solo homer against Hofstra and hit a two-run homer against Elon in the CAA Tournament.

70. Cincinnati 11 0 33 3.00

IF Dondrae Bremner (Toronto, Ont.) Toronto Mets and the Canadian Junior National Team.

Bremner hit .167 with four doubles and six RBIs playing in 30 games making 24 starts. He made collegiate debut at Sam Houston State with one at-bat, made his first start the next day going 2-for-4 with a double. He also had two hits against Northern Kentucky and had two his with a double against UConn.

Prior to coming to Cincinnati, he was selected in the 31st round by the Cincinnati Reds. Bremner played with the Canadian Junior National Team (2015-2017) which placed fourth at the 2017 U-18 Baseball World Cup. At the bantam Nationals in 2015 he earned All-Tournament Shortstop, MVP for the team and had the highest batting average.

71. Eastern Kentucky 8 0 33 4.13

OF Nick Howie (Oakville, Ont.) of the Ontario Blue Jays.

He hit .333 with 13 doubles with 10 homers and 50 RBIs, stealing 17 bases. He ranked second on the team in doubles, homers, RBIs, stolen bases slugging percentage (.533) and on base percentage (.420). He had a .953 OPS in 60 games.

Howie earned second team All-Ohio Valley Conference honors, was chosen to the OVC All-Tournament team and earned a Third team selection to the Google Cloud Academic All-America Team selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America. He also earned the OVC Medal of Honor, given annually to the student-athlete with the highest grade point average in a conference-sponsored sport and he earned a spot on the OVC Commissioner’s Honor Roll.

Facing Tennessee-Martin he was 3-for-5 with a home run and five RBIs. Some of his other best outings included: 3-for-5 with one double, one home run, four RBIs against Southeast Missouri and 4-for-7 with one double, three RBIs, playing Jacksonville State. In five OVC tournament games, he batted .500 (10-for-20) with six walks, four RBIs, three doubles and one home run. He had an .800 slugging percentage and a .615 on-base percentage in the OVC Tournament.

77. New Mexico 13 0 30 2.31

C Reese O’Farrell (Burlington, Ont.) of the Ontario Blue Jays.

O’Farrell hit .375 with three doubles, a triple, two homers and 19 RBIs with the Howard Hawks in 29 games last spring with a .958 OPS.

As a freshman at Howard, he hit .314 with eight doubles, a triple, a homer and 30 RBIs in 35 games as he posted a .677 OPS.

83. Michigan State 5 0 29 5.80

INF Royce Ando (Mississauga, Ont.) of the Ontario Blue Jays and the Canadian Junior National Team.

He hit games .286 with a double and four RBIs playing only 13 games.

His best game was going 4-for-5 against Clemson as well as two hits with an RBI facing Illinois, as well as a pair of hits and two RBIs facing Niagara. Ando singled against Fresno State, Pepperdine, Furman and Niagara,

87. Houston 9 0 28 3.11

INF Brett Esau (Meadow Lake, Sask.) Okotoks Dawgs and Frank Phillips Plainsmen, plus INF Kobe Hyland (Spruce Grove Alta.) Spruce Grove White Sox, Canadian Junior National Team and Iowa Western Reivers.

Esau batted .349 for Frank Phillips last spring with 15 doubles, five triples, 11 homers and 55 RBIs in 56 games while running up a .900 OPS. He earned Canadian Baseball Network Honourable Mention.

At Iowa Western, Hyland gained Canadian Baseball Network First Team honours. He batted .386 with 15 doubles, three triples, three homers and 35 RBIs. He had a 1.044 OPS in 47 games.

On the way in ...

2020

3. Louisiana State 17 8 162 9.53

RHP Theo Millas, Burnaby, BC, LSU (LA) Langley Blaze and Canadian Junior National Team.

Millas had an 0.88 ERA in the 2018 BC Premier Baseball League season, including a no hitter. His fastball that has touched 91 mph. He pitches for coaches Jamie Bodaly and Doug Mathieson in the spring; with the Langley Blaze, for Greg Hamilton and the Canadian Junior National Team for roughly six weeks and for the DBacks Langley Blaze in October when the Blaze head to Jupiter for the Perfect Game World Wood Bat.

4. TCU 18 3 116 6.44

C Raphael Pelletier, (Mascouche, Que.) Academy Baseball Canada and Canadian Junior National Team.

Playing for Academy Baseball Canada, Pelletier impressed assistant coach Kirk Saarloos to earn a scholarship offer from the TCU Horned Frogs. Saarloos, a former major leaguer, who played seven seasons with the Oakland A’s, Houston Astros and Cincinnati Reds saw Pelletier twice: competing in the TCU tournament in Fort Worth at Lupton Stadium and again later at Indianapolis.

Now, the phrase TCU and Canadians does not really go together well. Since 1999 of the 100s of players we have been tracking each year (anywhere from 490 to 750) the only player we recall going to TCU was Vauxhall grad Jeremie Fagnan (Calgary, Alta.) as a JUCO transfer. The Horned Frogs are a powerhouse, having reached the College World Series in Omaha five times under coach Jim Schlossnagle: 2010, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.

75. Louisiana-Lafayette 10 0 31 3.10

RHP Conor Angel (Lachine, Que.) of the Academy Baseball Canada, Canadian Junior National Team and Northwest Florida State.

After prepping at Lakeside Academy in Kalamazoo, Mich. Angel is currently at Northwest Florida State College.

Angel made 15 appearances, working 25 2/3 innings for Northwest Florida State averaging 9.82 strikeouts per nine in debut season. He had multiple strikeouts in 11 of 15 outings.

Angel was an invite to the 2018 Florida JUCO All-Star Game and he earned the Russell Martin Trophy recipient for top prospect in Quebec Junior Elite League (2017).

99. VCU 10 0 25 2.50

LHP Campbell Ellis (Georgetown, Ont.) and INF Austin Gomm (Mississauga, Ont.) Ontario Terriers.

They are headed for Richmond, Va. after being recruited by assistant coach Mike McRae (Niagara Falls, NY).

Campbell was not only a major cog in the Terriers pitching staff and also pitched in Oklahoma at the Junior Sun Belt, firing six innings against Team Georgia.

At the Canada Cup in August Campbell won a gold medal, pitching 10 scoreless in wins over Quebec and New Brunswick. The New Brunswick game was a semi-final‎ moving Ontario to the title game. He also pitched for Ontario Black at T12.

Gomm also played in Oklahoma Junior Sunbelt tourney and was a member of the Ontario Youth Team that will vie for a national championship at the 2018 Canada Cup in Moncton. Coach David Quattrociocchi’s Ontario team beat British Columbia 9-5 to win gold.

Gomm also played for Ontario Black at Tournament 12 at the Rogers Centre.

Incoming

2021

31. Kentucky 14 1 71 5.07

OF Owen Caissie (Burlington, Ont.) of the Fieldhouse Pirates.

Ranked the top Canuck for 2021. He singled against SBO Florida when Fieldhouse was at the LakePoint Sports Complex in Cartersville Ga. The six-foot, 160-pounder also played against Central Pointe Christian Academy, SBO Team Underclass and also Dux by TSD.

35. Oregon State 15 0 68 4.53

OF Alejandro Cazorla (Surrey, BC), Okotoks Dawgs and LHP Justin Thorsteinson (Richmond, BC) Langley Blaze and Canadian Junior National Team.

Cazorla was the 2016 Junior Northwest Championship and Class of 2020 MVP. He was a bronze medalist at the 2016 BC Summer Games Zone 4 and competed in the Canadian Western championships.

In 2015 he competed in the Cal Ripken World Series with Team Canada and the USSSA All American Games. In 2012, he was a provincial gold medalist with BC. Besides the Dawgs, he played for the Rijo Athletics.

Thorsteinson earned Preseason Underclass All American with High Honorable Mention and is ranked the second highest high schooler in the province and the No. 1 LHP.

He made the All Tournament Team with the Dbacks Langley Blaze at the 2018 Perfect Game West MLK Championship (Underclass), 18U Perfect Game World Series and the WWBA World Championship.

58. Missouri 11 0 42 3.82

LHP Caden Griffin (Nepean, Ont.) Ontario Blue Jays and Ottawa-Nepean Canadians.

Griffin earned Perfect Game 2018 Preseason Underclass All American Honorable Mention.

He also earned All Tournament Team honours with the Ontario Blue Jays at the 2017 World Wood Bat 16U National Championship. Griffin pitched 5 2/3 innings scoreless allowing three walks, while whiffing 13.

And he earned the same honour at the 2018 Ways to Play powered by MLB & PG tourney in Cartersville, Ga, when he pitched four innings allowing one run on five hits and two walks, while striking out seven.

89. Washington State 6 1 27 4.50

LHP Matthew Wilkinson (Delta, BC) Okotoks Dawgs.

The 5-foot-11, 225-pounder earned Perfect Game 2018 Preseason Underclass All American High Honorable Mention.

Says his coach Jeff Duda: “Matt is a positive life force on and off the field. He leads by example and vocally amongst the pitching staff. This fall and winter, he has been working hard at improving his body. Weight management and nutrition have been a point of emphasis, and we are starting to see some gains in his strength and mobility. Matt’s best characteristics are his bulldog mentality and competitiveness, we expect him to be our No. 1 starter.”