By Bob Elliott
Canadian Baseball Network
He was a big name around campus in Bartlesville, Okla.

He was even larger in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference.

And on an even bigger stage he was the man when it came to NAIA ball.

That was the type of spring OF Christopher Acosta-Tapia (Laval, Que.) had. 

The Oklahoma Wesleyan Eagles outfielder was a three-time KCAC Player of the Week, earned NAIA First Team All-American honours and was recognized as National Player of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association and Rawlings. 

And to top all of that Acosta-Tapia is the Canadian Baseball Network college Player of the Year in voting for our 18th annual All-Canadian team. Acosta-Tapia received first-place votes from 41 of 51 (80.3%) voters.

All-Canadian College Team: Stats

1B J.D. Osborne (Whitby, Ont.) of the Tampa Spartans was runner-up with 39 first-place votes, while Noah Gapp (St. Albert, Alta.) of Cumberlands Patriots and Brett Esau (Meadow Lake, Sask.) of the Frank Phillips Plainsmen each had 35 first-place votes.

Acosta-Tapia led the NAIA in doubles (27), total bases (208) and runs scored (89). He also ranked among the top 10 nationally in 11 other categories. He played a key role in Oklahoma Wesleyan’s first-ever KCAC title and its run through the playoffs, including the program’s second trip to the Avista-NAIA World Series.

* * *
Acosta-Tapia is the second-straight winner from Quebec, third in the last four years and the fourth in 18 years.

The previous Canadian Baseball Network Player of the Year winners through the years include the likes of ...

_ LHP Guillaume Blanchette (St-Constant, Que.) of the Lubbock Christian, the first to ever bat 1.000, collecting 51 of 51 first-place votes last year.

_ 3B Connor Panas (Toronto, Ont.) of the Canisius Golden Griffins, named first on 33 of 45 ballots (73.3) in 2015.

_ 2B-OF Craig-St. Louis (Gatineau, Que.) of the Seminole State Trojans, 50-for-59 (84.7) in 2014.

_ LHP Ryan Kellogg (Whitby, Ont.) of the Arizona State Sun Devils, 50-for-65 (76.9) in 2013.

_ 2B Maxx Tissenbaum (Toronto, Ont.) of the Stony Brook Seawolves, 40-for-58 (69) in 2012.

_ OF Chase Larsson (Vancouver, BC), of the Cameron Aggies, 39 of 41 votes (95.1) in 2011.

_ OF Marcus Knecht (North York, Ont.) of the Connors State, 49 of 51 (96.1) in 2010.

_ 3B Jesse Sawyer (Calgary, Alta.) of the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, 33 for 49 (67.3) in 2009.

_ DH Mike Gosse (Pitt Meadows, BC) of the Oklahoma Sooners, 35 of 42 (83.3) in 2008.

_ 1B Kevin Atkinson (Surrey, BC) of the New Mexico Jr. College Thunderbirds, 55 for 62 (88.7)in 2007.

— OF Jon Baksh (Mississauga, Ont.) of the Florida Tech Panthers, 40 of 63 (63.5) in 2006.

— 1B Karl Amonite (Woodslee, Ont.) of the Auburn Tigers, 55 for 62 (88.7) in 2005.

— OF Charlie MacFarlane (Lantzville, BC) of the Cumberland Bulldogs, 36 for 45 (80) in 2004.

_ C Aaron McRae (Delta, BC) of the LSU-Shreveport Pilots, 37 for 49 (75.5) in 2003.

_ OF Ryan Kenning (North Vancouver, BC) of the New Mexico State Aggies and RP-SS Jesse Crain (Toronto, Ont.) of the Houston Cougars, who shared honours with nine first-place voters on 16 ballots (56.3) in 2002.

_ LHP Jeff Francis (North Delta, BC) of the British Columbia Thunderbirds, six of seven (85.7) in 2001.

— And OF Ben Emond (Farnham, Que.) of the Texas Longhorns, in 2000, our inaugural year.

* * *

Our voters included … 14 scouts, 13 coaches, from elite programs to colleges on both sides of the border; 10 writers -- including seven Canadian Baseball Network staffers -- six suits (executives, front-office staff), four players and former players, two broadcasters, one SID and one crack copy editor who root-root-roots for old Notre Dame.

Our electorate came from eight different provinces and six states. Voting was done on a 5-3-1 basis.

We should point out that the ballot gathering process moved a lot quicker this year thanks to the efforts of Kevin Wall (Richmond Hill, Ont.) also known as Jason Bourne, for his magical ways of gathering all the numbers and George Farelli.

And is always the case, IF you failed to turn in your ballot you have lost your right to complain.

This year Ontario players led the way with four players on the First Team. The rest of the team was made up of three players from Alberta, Quebec had two players, with the other spots going to players from BC, PEI and Saskatchewan.

Two of the Alberta spots went to the same player: Matt Lloyd (Okotoks, Alta.) of Indiana. Lloyd had a total of 29 first-place votes to take both positions just as Jesse Crain (Toronto, Ont.), of the Houston Cougars took both the closer and the shortstop spots. Crain shared the Canadian Baseball Network POY honor with OF Ryan Kenning (North Vancouver, BC) of the New Mexico State Aggies in 2002.

You read about these players in Matt Betts' weekly Big Men on Campus installments ... and now the players voted best of the 755 Canadians playing the majority of their schedules south of the border.

First Team
Left-hander _ J.P. Stevenson (New Glasgow, PEI) Canisius Golden Griffs.

Stevenson won nine times beating Gardner-Webb, New Jersey Tech, Fordham (complete game, seven-inning shut out), George Mason (eight innings, two runs in his longest start), Siena, Rider, Quinnipiac, Iona and Marist. One of his best outings was striking out eight in 6 2/3 innings, a 3-1 loss to Winthrop.  

He shared the Metro Atlantic Conference league lead in wins with Charlie Jerle of Marist, each had nine. Stevenson led in innings and games started. In 15 starts, he pitched 93 2/3 innings walking 21 and striking out 69. 

Stevenson was second with nine wins among Canadians, one behind Noah Gapp (St. Albert, Alta.) and one up on Adam Jafine (Toronto, Ont.) of Charleston and Kyle Thomas (Mississauga, Ont.) of Northwestern Ohio.

Stevenson pitched for coach Les McTavish and the Vauxhall Academy Jets before being recruited by Canisius coach Mike McRae (Niagara Falls, Ont.).

Right-hander _ Noah Gapp (St. Albert, Alta.) Cumberlands Patriots.

Gapp made 15 starts and won an amazing 10 games beating Point (nine scoreless, three hits). Bethel (six scoreless, five hits), Cincinnati Christian (seven scoreless), Huntington (one run in 8 1/3 innings, 11 strikeouts), Pikeville (nine scoreless, 10 whiffs), Robert Morris (one run in seven innings, 10 strikeouts), Georgetown (nine innings, one run), Cumberland, Shawnee State (seven scoreless) and Georgetown (eight scoreless, 12 strikeouts).

Gapp was a Daktronics NAIA First Team All-American. He tallied a Mid-South Conference best 1.94 ERA along with a conference best 10 wins on the year. Gapp also led the MSC this year in opponents’ batting average (.199), innings pitched (111 1/3), strikeouts (121), and runs allowed (29). 

Gapp led all Canucks with 10 wins, followed by J.P. Stevenson (New Glasgow, PEI) of Canisius with nine, followed by Adam Jafine (Toronto, Ont.) of Charleston and Kyle Thomas (Mississauga, Ont.) of Northwestern Ohio with eight each. Gapp led all in innings with 111, followed by Stevenson with 93 and Jafine, who had 81. And Gapp was on top with 121 strikeouts, followed by Niagara County’s Christian Lindsay-Young (Oakville, Ont.) who had 106. Colby’s Nick Vickers (Calgary, Alta.) and Thomas tied for third with 87.

Before heading south, Gapp pitched for the Badlands Badgers Academy with coaches Jeff Amos and Elliott Shrive.

Reliever _ Matt Lloyd (Okotoks, Alta.) Indiana Hoosiers.

The Hoosiers won 34 games and from the mound Lloyd played a role in 12 outcomes. He picked up three wins and nine saves. He had victories against Hawaii (1 1/3 scoreless), again facing Hawaii (two runs in 3 1/3 innings) and Ball State (one run in two innings). He closed out nine games against Cincinnati (1 1/3 scoreless), Northwestern (one run in 2/3 of an inning), Minnesota (one scoreless inning), Michigan (2/3 scoreless), Maryland (one scoreless), Xavier (1 1/3 scoreless), Penn State (one scoreless), Louisville (one scoreless) and Ohio State (1 2/3 scoreless).
 
His nine saves were tied for fourth in the league.

Lloyd, who played for the Okotoks Dawgs and coach Allen Cox before heading to Iowa Western, earned Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian team First Team honours at DH and Honourable Mention as a right-hander, in 2016. 

Catcher _ Tony Hrynkiw (Brampton, Ont.) Connors State Cowboys.

Hrynkiw was 13th in the nation in runs scored (77), 48th in hits (81) and 58th in RBIs (60). His most productive games were four-hit days against Bacone (RBI double), Northern Oklahoma Tonkawa (RBI), Eastern Oklahoma State (two RBIs) and Rose State (double, two RBIs).

Multi-hit games continued with three-hits facing Otero (two doubles, three RBIs), Arkansas Baptist (five RBIs, double), Seminole State, TCS Postgrad (RBI), Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, Northeastern Oklahoma (double, RBI), Northern Oklahoma Enid (two RBIs), He also had two-hit efforts facing Otero (an RBI), Southwest Christian (RBI double), North Lake (RBI), Ozarks, Ozarks (double), Bacone, Southwest Christian, Ozarks (double), Arkansas Tech (double), Northern Oklahoma Enid, Rose State (RBI), Eastern Oklahoma State (RBI) and Eastern Oklahoma (RBI).

Hrynkiw played for coaches Danny Bleiwas and Sean Travers with the Ontario Blue Jays. 

First basemen _ J.D. Osborne (Whitby, Ont.) Tampa Spartans.

Osborne was named as the NCAA Division II statistical champion for RBIs per game. A 2017 selection of the Miami Marlins, he averaged a national-best 1.62 RBI per game, helping UT to a 39-14 record and the program’s 18th Sunshine State Conference title with a 20-4 league mark.

Osborne hit .387, slugging 20 home runs while driving in 86 runs. He also led the team with 19 doubles and ranked second among all Spartans with 66 runs and 86 hits. 

Osborne was third in home runs in the Canuck dinger derby, four behind Oklahoma Wesleyan’s Christopher Acosta-Tapia (Laval, Que.) and one back of Brett Esau (Meadow Lake, Sask.).

Among his accolades were being named to the NCBWA Division II Preseason All-South Region Second Team, First Team All-Sunshine State Conference, ABCA First Team All-South Region, D2CCA Second Team All-South Region, NCBWA Second Team All-South Region, four-time Sunshine State Conference Player of the Week, two-time NCBWA National Hitter of the Week and NCBWA Regional Hitter of the Week.

Osborne was second in RBIs on the Canadian list, five behind Eric Senior (Toronto, Ont.).

Osborne, who played for Ryan McBride with the Toronto Mets and Clare Osborne, former Oshawa Legionnaires stud, earned Canadian Baseball Network Honourable Mention honours in 2014 and again in 2015 at Polk State, as well as being a Second Teamer in 2016.

Second base _ Jared Young (Prince George, BC) Old Dominion Monarchs.

Young was the first ODU All-American since Ben Verlander in 2013 leading in 11 offensive categories average (.367), triples (four), home runs (seven), runs (57), stolen bases (nine) and OPS (1.021) . He hit .433 in Conference USA games, which led the league by over 20 points. Young reached base in 32 consecutive games during the season, along with an 18-game hitting streak and recorded 24 multi-hit games, including five four-hit games. He committed six errors in 58 games at second base for a fielding percentage of .974.

The honours which came his way included Third Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball News, ABCA/Rawlings and Honorable Mention All-American by Perfect Game/Rawlings, Conference USA Newcomer of the Year, First Team All-C-USA selection, C-USA All-Academic Team selection and All-State First Team by VaSID, Weekly honours included being two-time C-USA Hitter of the Week and he was also a Collegiate News National Player of the Week. 

Young, who played for Evan Bailey and the Okanagan Athletics as well as the Prince George Knights for coaches Randy Potskin, Dean Kazakoff and Troy Waldie, earned 2016 Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian Second Team honours.

Brett Esau (Meadow Lake, Sask.), had an all-star spring with the Frank Phillips Plainsmen

Third Base _ Brett Esau (Meadow Lake, Sask.) Frank Phillips Plainsmen.

Esau finished with 21 homers in 52 games which was second in the nation. He was also 41st in RBIs (64) and 85th in triples (four).

Esau went deep against Blinn (three RBIs), Seward County, Howard (four RBIs), Western Texas (three RBIs), Western Texas (three RBIs), Western Texas (five RBIs), Howard (three RBIs), Odessa (two RBIs), Odessa (two RBIs), Odessa (two homers, two RBIs), New Mexico, Garden City (two RBIs), New Mexico Military, Midland, then Midland again (two homers, three RBIs), Midland (two homers, three RBIs), El Paso (two RBIs) and El Paso (four RBIs). 

Esau sat second in the Canadian home run race, three behind Oklahoma Wesleyan’s Christopher Acosta-Tapia (Laval, Que.) and one ahead of Tampa’s J.D. Osborne (Whitby, Ont.).

He played for the Okotoks Dawgs and coach Allen Cox as well as the Northwest Prairie Pirates and coach Derek Flasch.

Shortstop _ Max Hewitt (Barrie, Ont.) Connors State Cowboys.

Hewitt didn’t have much trouble adjusting to college ball. In fact he dominated. He was second in the nation in hits (103), 20th in runs (73), 41st in doubles (19), 42nd in on-base percentage (.507) and 58th in total bases (133), 

Hewitt finished second with 103 hits, two behind Oklahoma Wesleyan’s Christopher Acosta-Tapia (Laval, Que.) 

Hewitt’s best game was a four-hit day against pitching from TCS Post Grad. He had three-hit games against Otero, Bacone (twice), Carl Albert State, Ozarks, Rose State (twice), Carl Albert, Seminole State (twice), Eastern Oklahoma State (twice), Northeastern Oklahoma A&M and Arkansas Baptist.  

As well, he had two-hit games facing Otero, Oklahoma Wesleyan (twice), Southwest Christian (three), Ozarks, Coffeyville (twice), Arkansas Baptist (three), Rose State, Seminole State and Eastern Oklahoma State. 

Hewitt played for the Ontario Blue Jays and coach Mike Steed, then played this summer in Fort McMurray in the WMBL and transferred after his freshman year to Oklahoma State.

Outfielders _ Christopher Acosta-Tapia (Laval, Que.) Oklahoma Wesleyan Eagles, Tristan Pompey (Mississauga, Ont.) Kentucky Wildcats and Jonathan Lacroix (Montreal, Que.) Seminole State Trojans.

Besides NAIA player of the year, Acosta-Tapia won player of the week honors three times. In February against high-quality opponents St. Gregory’s and Sterling, he dominated. He hit for the cycle going 5-for-6 with a home run, triple, double, and two singles facing St. Gregory’s. In the weekend series against Sterling, Tapia was 7-for-10 with five home runs, nine RBIs, eight runs scored, two doubles and three walks. Overall, the centre fielder finished with a .750 average (12-for-16), six home runs, one grand slam, 13 RBIs, 11 runs scored, three doubles, three walks, and one triple.

In March, Acosta-Tapia had a monster week for Oklahoma Wesleyan going 10-for-16 (.625) at the plate with eight runs scored, six RBIs, three doubles, a home run and a stolen base. The week put him first in KCAC in home runs (13), slugging mark (.955), second in average (.464), and fifth in RBIs (37).

And two weeks later the clean-up hitter went 8-for-14 (.571) with eight RBIs, eight runs scored, two home runs, and a double. Acosta-Tapia lifted his average to .452, third in the KCAC. And he led the KCAC in home runs (16) and slugging percentage (.911), and was fourth in RBIs (51) behind three of his teammates. He finished with a .441 average, 27 doubles, two triples, 24 homers and 85 RBIs in 63 games.

Among Canadian hitters, Acosta-Tapia led with 105 hits, two more than Connors State’s Max Hewitt; 27 doubles, one more than New Mexico 1B Ryan Rijo (Barrie, Ont.), 24 homers, three more than Frank Phillips’ Brett Esau (Meadow Lake, Sask.). Acosta-Tapia was third in RBIs, six back of Midland’s Eric Senior (Toronto, Ont.).

Acosta-Tapia, who played for the Bisons de Saint-Eustache and coach Luc Desgroseilliers this summer, earned Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian team Second Team honours at DH in 2016. He also played for the Guerriers de Granby and coach Deibiz Gomez.

Pompey hit .361 in 66 games -- fourth highest in the SEC. He was behind Mississippi State junior Brent Rooker, who went in the first round (35th overall) to the Minnesota Twins after hitting .387, Auburn junior Jonah Todd who batted .376, who went in the sixth to the Anaheim Angels and Pompey’s Kentucky teammate Evan White, another junior, represented by Blake Crosky (Toronto, Ont.) who went in the first (17th overall) to the Seattle Mariners.

Pompey had 18 doubles, 10 homers, 45 RBIs, 1.005 OPS, 9-for-13 stealing bases, leading the SEC with a .410 average in league games, while tallying the most hits and finishing in the top three in runs, on-base percentage, and total bases. He ranks third on UK’s single-season hits list with 96, third in runs with 70 and fifth in walks with 46. Pompey added 28 extra-base hits, with nine of his 10 home runs in SEC play and as he slugged .541 on the season.

Pompey finished third with 96 hits, behind Oklahoma Wesleyan’s Christopher Acosta-Tapia (Laval, Que.) and Connors State’s Max Hewitt (Barrie, Ont.).

After playing for Toronto Mets -- under coaches Ryan McBride and Rich Leitch -- as well as the Oakville Royals -- for coaches Mike Siena and Mike Swinton -- Pompey earned Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian Honourable Mention honours in 2016. 

It’s been said that the wind in Oklahoma and Arkansas starts at NJCAA Region II diamonds and stops about Lake Michigan. So there are plenty of home runs -- unless it is blowing in of course. The Trojans hit 129 homers in 58 games and Lacroix had 17 bombs. 

On the national scale, he was seventh in doubles (23) and slugging (.829), eighth in battling average (.447), 10th in total bases (165), 16th in hits (89), 17th in homers (17), 31st in runs scored (68) and 32nd in RBIs (67).

Lacroix led all Canadian hitters with a .447 average followed by Oklahoma Wesleyan OF Christopher Acosta-Tapia (Laval, Que.) at .441 and Connors State SS Max Hewitt (Barrie, Ont.) .436.

On the season he enjoyed some memorable outings like four-hit games facing Western Oklahoma State, Paradise Valley and Connors State, 

He had three-hit games against Cowley County, Redlands, Oklahoma Christian, Connors State, Arkansas Baptist, Eastern Oklahoma State and Rose State (twice) as well as two-hit days against Crowder, Carl Albert, Vernon, Cowley County, Phoenix, Oklahoma Christian, Eastern Oklahoma State (three times), Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (twice), Connor State, Rose State and Delgado.  

LaCroix was selected for All-American First Team and was also chosen during the 12th round of this year’s draft by the Houston Astros. He played for coach Rob Fatal with the ABC and in the junior elite league under les Orioles de Montreal and coach Marc-Andre Ronda.

DH _ Matt Lloyd (Okotoks, Alta.) Indiana Hooisers.

Lloyd was tied for third in the conference in doubles (16), fifth in slugging percentage (.554), tied for sixth in home runs (11), tied for eighth in RBIs (46) and tied for 13th in total bases. 
 
In conference games only, he finished third in slugging (.674) and total bases (64), tied for third in home runs (7) and doubles (9), tied for eighth in RBIs (23), ninth in batting average (.358), tied for 10th in hits (34), 12th in on base percentage (.419). His six saves in league games only was tied for second in the Big Ten.
 
Lloyd was named National Player of the Week by Perfect Game, National Hitter of the Week by NCBWA, and one of Collegiate Baseball’s National Players of the Week following his performance at Northwestern in March. Lloyd hit .643 on the week with nine hits, four home runs, two doubles, 10 RBI and six runs scored. The sophomore collected three home runs against Northwestern, marking the first time a Hoosier has had three home runs in a game since Josh Phegley in 2009. He earned a spot on the ABCA/Rawlings Mideast All-Region Team and he was a second team All-Big Ten selection this season, 

Lloyd, who played for the Okotoks Dawgs and coach Allen Cox before heading to Iowa Western, earned Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian team First Team honours at DH and Honourable Mention as a right-hander, in 2016. 

Second Team
Left-hander _ Adam Jafine (Toronto, Ont.) Charleston Golden Eagles. 

Jafine racked up eight wins beating Millersville, Salem International, Notre Dame College (seven innings, one run), Glenville State, UVa-Wise, Concord (five innings, one run), West Virginia State (seven scoreless) and Concord (nine scoreless, nine strikeouts) again. He registered wins in five straight starts. 

Jafine tied for second in the Mountain East Conference in innings pitched (83 1/3 innings, was third in strikeouts (82) and wins (eight). He is no slouch away from the mound either making the Dean’s List, winning the Provost’s award and being named a Mountain East Scholar Athlete.

He was tied for third with Kyle Thomas (Mississauga, Ont.) of Northwestern Ohio with eight victories each, two behind Noah Gapp (St. Albert, Alta.) and one behind J.P. Stevenson (New Glasgow, PEI) of Canisius.

After pitching for the Toronto Mets and coach Ryan McBride, Jafine earned Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian team Honourable Mention in 2016. 

Right-hander _ Connor Noble (Vancouver, BC) University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.

Noble won seven games beating Thompson Rivers (six scoreless), Antelope Valley (six scoreless). Corban (allowing two runs in 8 1/3 innings), College of Idaho (seven scoreless), Lewis-Clark State (four runs in nine innings), Corban (seven scoreless) and Oregon Tech (one run in nine innings).

Noble was named NAIA West Pitcher of the Year and was selected to the All-NAIA First Team. He went 7-2 with 1.93 ERA. He also led the ‘Birds in innings pitched with 79 1/3 striking out 63 and walking only 13. Noble also threw three complete games.

Noble, who earned Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian team Honourable Mention in 2015-16, pitched for the Vancouver Cannons and coach Jim Chapman.

Reliever _ Dalton Harvey (Cambridge, Ont.) Dodge City Conquistadors.

Harvey had a 3.50 ERA with 39 strikeouts and 11 saves in 22 appearances covering 25 2/3 innings to earn All-Kansas Jayhawk West Team honors last spring. He ranked second in KJCAA and fourth in NJCAA in saves as a sophomore. He had 3.68 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 18 appearances, spanning 32 1/3 innings, as a freshman. 

He had saves against Otero (one scoreless inning), Wayland Baptist JayVees (two scoreless), Cloud County (a scoreless 1/3), Butler (scoreless inning), Barton (1 2/3 scoreless), Colorado Northwestern (1/3 of an inning), Garden City (two innings, two runs), Colby (one scoreless) and Colby (1 2/3 scoreless). 

The Dodge City reliever led all Canadians in saves with 11, one ahead of Matt Lloyd (Okotoks, Alta.) and two up on Galveston’s Kristan Storrie (Langley, BC) and North Iowa Area’s Chase Stewart )Abbotsford, BC) who each had eight. 

Harvey tied for third among most appearances by Canadians -- with Central Arizona’s Nick Trogrlic-Iverson (Oakville, Ont.), as they both had 23 each. Central Florida’s Jordan Scheftz (North York, Ont.) was second with 26, while Union’s Talon Kunkel (Saskatoon, Sask.) led with 27.

Harvey, who pitched for the Great Lake Canadians and coach Adam Stern, earned Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian team Honourable Mention Team as a reliever in 2016. He is now at Illinois State.

Catcher _ Riley MacDonald (North Vancouver, BC) Waldorf Warriors.

MacDonald claimed NAIA Scholar-Athlete honor, earned North Star Athletic Association champions of character award -- presented to the player who exemplifies the core values and North Star Second Team honours.

MacDonald had some memorable games at the plate including four-hit outings against Presentation (three RBIs) and three-hit games facing Presentation (two doubles, three RBIs), Presentation (double, RBI), Viterbo (two doubles), Dakota State (three RBIs) and Ottawa (five RBIs). 

He also had two-hit games against Viterbo (double), Bellevue (RBI), Viterbo (double, two RBIs), Mayville State (RBI), Dakota State (three RBIs), Hastings (double), Dickinson State, Concordia (RBI), Midland (two RBIs) and Midland,

MacDonald played for coach Larson Bauck and North Shore Twins before heading to Cochise and playing at Douglas College. 

First base _ Ryan Rijo (Barrie, Ont.) New Mexico Junior Thunderbirds. 

Rijo was tied for second among Canuck hitters with Colby’s Garrett Kirkwood (Calgary, Alta.) each with 26 doubles, one behind Oklahoma Wesleyan’s Christopher Acosta-Tapia (Laval, Que.).

Rijo had 14 homers going deep against Navarro (solo shot), Trinidad State (solo homer and a single), Western Texas (homer, single, two RBIs), Midland (two homers, a double, three RBIs), New Mexico Military (homer, single, four RBIs), New Mexico Military (homer, single, four RBIs), Odessa (homer, double, three RBIs), Luna (homer, single, three RBIs), Luna (homer, double, three RBIs), Luna (three homers, double, six RBIs) and Hill (homer, two RBIs). 

In other games he had three-hit games against Navarro, Odessa and Midland while he had two-hit outings against Midland, Wharton County, Howard, Western Texas, Midland, Howard and Howard.  

Rijo played for the Ontario Blue Jays and coach Mike Steed.

Second base _ David Glaude (Quebec City, Que.) Missouri Western State Griffon.

He also broke MWSU career records for home runs, RBIs, doubles and walks this season. The senior started all 54 games for Missouri Western as it qualified for its second consecutive NCAA Central Regional. 

Glaude earned his second straight ABCA/Rawlings All-Region honour as he led the team with 114 total bases, 47 RBIs, 29 walks and eight home runs. He was second with a .340 average, 73 hits, 44 runs scored and 13 doubles. All-region teams are voted on by coaches and the process is led by the ABCA NCAA Div. II All-America Committee.
 
Glaude, who played for Capitales Junior de Québec and Cardinal Roy, as well as Diamants de Québec and coach Dominik Walsh, earned Canadian Baseball Network First Team honours in 2016 and Third Team honours in 2015.

Third base _ Kobe Morris (Victoria, BC) Crowder Roughriders.

Morris led the ’Riders with a .643 average in the Juco College World Series going 9-for-14 with two doubles, two home runs and six RBIs. Morris walked twice and struck out once. 

He enjoyed three-hit outings facing Neosho County, Jefferson, St. Louis, Mineral Area, Three Rivers, North Central Missouri, State Fair, Dyersburg State and Cowley County.   

And he had two hit games facing Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (twice), Neosho County (twice), North Iowa Area, MCC-Maple Woods (twice), St. Louis, Mineral Area, Three Rivers, Jefferson (twice), Seminole State and Wallace-Dothan. 

Morris played for coach Anthony Pluta and the Victoria Eagles.

Shortstop _ Nolan Rattai (Medicine Hat, Alta.) Midland Chaparrals.    

Rattai was fifth in runs scored in the nation (83), 17th in RBIs (72), 25th in On Base Percentage (.527), 32nd in doubles (20), 38th in hits (83) and 41st in average (.413), 

He had 83 hits and in 58 games including four hits facing El Paso and Frank Phillips, to go with three-hit outing against Grayson, Howard (twice), Odessa, Howard, New Mexico Military (twice), Luna and Western Texas. Rattai also had two-hit outings facing Blinn, Colby, McLennan, Odessa, New Mexico, Western Texas, Clarendon, Frank Phillips and Odessa (twice). 

Rattai, who played for coach Les McTavish and the Vauxhall Academy Jets, earned Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian Third Team honours in 2016. 

Outfielders _ Eric Senior (Toronto, Ont.) of the Midland Chaparrals, Tyler Duncan (Sooke, BC) of the Crowder Roughriders and Raphael Gladu (Pointe-du-lac, Que.) of the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.

Senior, a former T12 MVP, ranked high amongst the national leaders, sitting third in RBIs (91), 12th in triples (seven), 15th in hits (90), 17th in home runs (17), 22nd in runs (72) and 28th in slugging (.752).

Senior’s best days were four-hit outings against McLennan, El Paso and Clarendon.  

Senior led all Canadians in RBIs with 91, five more than Tampa’s J.D. Osborne (Whitby, Ont.). Oklahoma Wesleyan’s Christopher Acosta-Tapia (Laval, Que.) drove in 85 and Crowder’s Tyler Duncan (Sooke, BC) had 80,

He also enjoyed three hits facing New Mexico Military, Odessa, New Mexico (twice), El Paso, Western Texas as well as two-hit games facing McLennan, Galveston, Weatherford (twice), Howard (twice), NMMI, Luna (twice), Odessa (five times), New Mexico (twice), Western Texas (twice) and Frank Phillips.  

Senior played for the Toronto Mets and coach Ryan McBride.

Duncan drove in 80 runs to break the school mark of 74 set by Paul Somogye (1984) and Bubby Williams (2008), drafted in the 11th round by the Houston Astros.

He had two-hit games against Seminole State, Des Moines Area, Iowa Western, Jefferson, MCC-Maple Woods, Connors State, Mineral Area (twice), Three Rivers, North Central Missouri (twice), Neosho County, St. Charles, St. Louis, Delgado and Dyersburg State. Facing Des Moines Area, Neosho County, State Fair, Marshalltown, Iowa Central, Marshalltown, Jefferson (twice) and MCC-Maple Woods he had three-hit games.

His best days were a four-hit outing against State Fair and five knocks against St. Louis, a 12-4 win, as he went 5-for-6 with a triple and three RBIs. Duncan sat amongst the nation’s best as he was sixth in RBIs (80), eighth in triples (eight), 13th in hits (91), 15th in runs scored (75) and 18th in doubles (21), 

Duncan was fourth in RBIs with 80, behind Eric Senior (Toronto, Ont.), Tampa’s J.D. Osborne (Whitby, Ont.) and Oklahoma Wesleyan’s Christopher Acosta-Tapia (Laval, Que.).

Duncan played for the Victoria Eagles and coach Anthony Pluta. 

Gladu won USA Conference Player of the Week In the first week of May. In 20 plate appearances -- one game against Western Kentucky and a three-game series facing Florida International -- he had two home runs, a triple, three doubles, five singles, three walks, eight RBIs and seven runs scored. 

Gladu helped lead the Bulldogs to a fifth consecutive series victory on the road at FIU with a team-high average of .615 for the weekend and picked up eight hits, four of which went for extra bases. Those marks led to a ridiculous 1.842 OPS for the week, with a 1.154 slugging percentage and .688 on-base percentage. In the finale, Gladu launched a game-tying, three-run home run in the top of the eighth inning to temporarily knot the game at 3-3.

This spring he hit .378 with 19 doubles, two triples, eight homers, 55 RBIs and an 1.019 OPS.

Gladu, who played for Les Aigles de Trois-Rivières and Rémy Doucet, earned a Canadian Baseball Network honourable mention in 2016

DH _ Yan-Eric Tremblay (Quebec City, Que.) Clarendon Bulldogs.

Tremblay had 10 doubles, five triples, five homers and 30 RBIs, while hitting .430 in 41 games with a 1.229 OPS.

He hit two homers in a 21-20 loss to Howard, driving in four runs. Tremblay also had multi-hit games -- three-hit outings against Odessa (twice), Frank Phillips, Luna (twice), New Mexico and New Mexico Military (twice) -- as well as two-hit contests facing Western Texas, Howard (twice), El Paso (twice), Seward County (twice), Midland and New Mexico.

Tremblay played four years for the Voyageurs du Saguenay in the Quebec junior elite league, the first two for coach Bob Fatal and the final two for Martin Pouliot, who doubles as a full-time scout for Washington Capitals.

Third Team
Left-Hander _ David Gauthier (Mt. Saint Hilaire, Que.) Trinidad State Trojans.
 

Gauthier won six times beating Lamar (one run in seven innings), Otero, Western Nebraska (one earned run in six innings), Lamar, Otero (one run in seven innings) and McCook (one run in 8 2/3 innings). 

He led Region IX with a 1.80 ERA and was fifth in wins. 

Gauthier was recruited from the LaFleche Dragons and coach Alexandre Béland. 

Right-handers _ Christian Lindsay-Young (Oakville, Ont.) Niagara County Thunderwolves and Kyle Thomas (Mississauga, Ont.) University of Northwestern Ohio Racers (tie)

Lindsay-Young had a 6-2 record with one save and a 1.57 ERA in 12 games, making 10 starts. His walk-to-strikeout ratio was amazing ... only nine walks while fanning 106 in 57 1/3 innings. His top strikeout games included: 13 against Kishwaukee, nine facing Onondaga, 12 against Erie and 11 facing Erie.

Born in Oakville, but raised in Hamburg, NY, Lindsay-Young earned Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian team Third Team honour in 2016. He was drafted by Cincinnati Reds cross checker Bill Byckowski (Georgetown, Ont.) in the 21st round of the 2017 draft and in the 23rd round by Oakland Athletics scout Matt Higginson (Oakville, Ont.) in 2016.

Thomas transferred to UNOH as a junior for the 2016 season and posted a 10-1 record, notching three shutouts. His 98 2/3 innings and 104 strikeouts were the second most by a UNOH pitcher in a single year. In his two seasons with the Racers, Thomas posted a 3.32 ERA and appeared in 24 contests while making 20 starts. All 16 of his appearances during the 2017 season were as starts.

In 16 starts Thomas beat Davenport (seven scoreless), Indiana Tech (two runs in eight innings), Illinois Tech (two runs in eight innings), Georgetown (two runs in 5 2/3 innings), Rochester (two runs in five innings), Lourdes (seven scoreless), Cornerstone (seven scoreless), Lawrence Tech (four runs in six innings), Marygrove (seven scoreless) and Cornerstone (two runs in seven innings).

Before heading to Iowa Lakes and then UNOH, he pitched for the Oakville Royals and coaches Mike Steed, Mike Siena and John Milton.

Reliever _ Michael Mueller (Mississauga, Ont.) Scottsdale Fighting Artichokes.

Mueller picked up six wins beating El Paso (one run in 2 1/3 innings), Southern Idaho (1 2/3 scoreless), Southern Idaho (one scoreless), Yavapai (one run in four innings), Glendale (two runs in seven innings) and GateWay (six scoreless). 

Mueller appeared in 16 games making five starts with a 2.19 ERA, while walking 11 and striking out 46 in 64 innings.

Mueller pitched for coach Jeremy Jayaweera with the Ontario Nationals.

Catcher _ Jacob Cuch (Aridrie, Alta.) Dickinson State Blue Hawks.

Cuch had a four-hit game against Viterbo (homer, three RBIs), while garnering three-hits facing Mayville State (double, RBI), Mayville State (two doubles, one RBI), Winnipeg (double, RBI), Oklahoma Panhandle State (two doubles, RBI), Presentation (double, two RBIs), Presentation (two RBIs), Valley City (RBI), Winnipeg (double, two RBIs), And he had two-hit outings playing Jamestown (double), Valley City State (RBI double), Waldorf (double, triple, RBI), Illinois Tech (two doubles, RBI), Jamestown, Jamestown, Jamestown, Valley City (two RBIs), Mayville State, Winnipeg (homer, three RBIs), Winnipeg (double, homer, three RBIs), Viterbo (three RBIs) and Jamestown (double).

Cuch earned a Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes honour. To be nominated the athlete must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and must have achieved junior academic status.

Cuch played for the University of Calgary Dinos and coach Colin Moro.

First base _ Matt Warkentin (Leamington, Ont.) Johnson County Cavaliers.

Warkentin had homers against Ellsworth (three straight), two facing MCC-Longview (four RBIs), one against Cowley County, Coffeyville, Independence, Southeast, three in consecutive games facing Allen County, Fort Scott, MCC-Maple Woods and Neosho County. 

He also had four hits against Hutchison including two doubles and three hits facing Kirkwood.

Warkentin played for the Great Lake Canadians and coach Adam Stern, before heading south. 

Second base _ Ryan Pouwells (Surrey, BC) LSU-Shreveport Pilots.

His numbers included a .394 batting average, 15 doubles, three triples, one home run, 57 RBIs, 48 walks, only 16 strikeouts, 10-for-11 in the stolen base department and an on-base percentage of .504. He was named the All-Red River First Team and All-Tournament team.

Pouwells was named the Male Student Athlete of the Year for the 2016-17 academic year. A staple at second base for the Pilots he helped guide them to their 11th conference tournament championship and their 13th consecutive appearance in the NAIA postseason.

Pouwells played for the Vancouver Cannons and coach Jim Chapman.

Third Base _ Liam Wilson (Ayr. Ont.) Canisius Golden Griffins.

Wilson had 73 hits -- including 16 doubles, four triples and three homers -- in 56 games. Wilson’s best were a four-hit outing against George Mason and a three-RBI day facing St. Bonaventure. Twice he had a nine-game hitting streaks.

With the Amsterdam Mohawks of the Perfect Game Collegiate League this summer he was PGCL Co-Player of the Week and Collegiate Summer Baseball National Hitter of the Week. Wilson went 11-for-19 with five doubles, two home runs and an impressive 1.158 slugging percentage.

Wilson, who played for coach Scott VandeValk and the Ontario Terriers, earned Canadian Baseball Network Honourable Mention in 2014 at Northeastern Jr. College. 

Shortstop _ Anthony Quirion (Dixville, Que.) Clarendon Chaparrals.

A .400 hitter Quirion enjoyed some good days in Texas, hitting nine homers. He went deep against Howard (five RBIs, two doubles), again against Howard (three hits, three RBIs), facing Luna (three hits, four RBIs), Odessa (three hits, two RBIs), Odessa (plus a double), Seward County (three hits, two RBIs), New Mexico (two RBIs), New Mexico Military (three hits) and NMMI (three hits). 

He had a four-hit game facing Seward County and three-hit games against Frank Phillips and El Paso, Quirion had two-hit efforts facing Brookhaven, Frank Phillips, Howard, El Paso, Seward County, Midland three times and New Mexico Military.

Quirion played this summer for Ducs de Longueuil and-coach Mathieu Adam. Before that, Quirion played two years for Rocket de Coaticook and Guy Ainslie.

Outfielders _ Chandler Robertson (Ancaster, Ont.) Murray State Aggies; Justin Graff-Rowe (Waterloo, Ont.) University of Central Missouri Mules and Garrett Kirkwood (Calgary, Alta.) Colby Trojans.

Robertson ranked among JUCO leaders finishing seventh in hits (87), seventh in stolen bases (17), eighth in batting average (.401), 12th in OBP (.478), 12th in runs scored (54), 16th in total bases (107), 19th in doubles (11) and 22nd in RBIs (41).

During the season Robertson’s best day was going 5-for-5 with a triple, a homer and three RBIs. He also had four knocks against North Central Texas knocking in three runs. Plus he had three-hit games against Ellsworth, Grayson, Brown Mackie, Redlands and Western Oklahoma State, 

And also two-hit nights facing Paris, Allen County, Ellsworth, Brown Mackie, LSU-Eunice, Eastern Oklahoma State (twice), North Central Texas, Northern Oklahoma-Tonkawa (twice), Western Oklahoma State, Northern Oklahoma-Enid (twice) and Carl Albert State (twice).

Robertson played for coaches Matt Baird and Jimmy Richardson with the Field House Pirates.

Graff-Rowe led the MIAA in batting with a .412 average. His 75 hits were the seventh most in the conference. He had 12 doubles, four triples, and five home runs to go along with 45 runs batted in. He had a .484 on-base percentage and slugged .604 in addition to tying for the team lead with 14 stolen bases. Appeared in 49 games in 2017, making 46 starts. He also led the team in hits with 75 while scoring 48 runs and stealing 14 bases and had 22 multi-hit games.

He was an Honorable Mention All-American by the National Collegiate Writers Association (NCBWA). He was a First Team All-MIAA and All-Region honoree. Graff-Rowe also earned Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) National Hitter of the Week.

He played for the Waterloo Tigers and coach Jason Marciniak,

Kirkwood had two-hit games facing New Mexico Military Institute, Lamar (twice), Garden City (twice), McCook, Cloud County (three), Butler, Barton and Dodge City

As well, he had three-hit games against NMMI, McCook, Pratt (twice), McCook and Butler plus a four-hit game against Cloud County.

Among Canucks, Kirkwood was tied for second with Connors State Ryan Rijo (Barrie, Ont.) each with 26 doubles, one behind Oklahoma Wesleyan’s Christopher Acosta-Tapia (Laval, Que.).

Kirkwood, who played for coach Alan Cox and the Okotoks Dawgs, earned Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian Honourable Mention honours in 2016. 

DH _ Matt Lahn (Georgetown, Ont.) Lock Haven Bald Eagles.

Lahn started all 47 games and hit .357 with 10 home runs, 14 doubles two triples and 46 RBIs. He had a 1.117 OPS in 50 games. 

He went 3-for-4 with three RBIs, including a two-run home run, in a 7-4 loss to Seton Hill in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) tournament opener.

Lahn hit a two-run homer in the tournament opener for the Bald Eagles IUP for its first postseason tournament win since 2002. He had three hits in all. 
 
Lahn, a two-time All-PSAC selection, played at the historic Georgetown Fairgrounds before moving to the Oakville Royals and coaches John Milton and Mike Steed.

Honourable Mention
Left-handers _ LHP Nick Vickers (Calgary, Alta.) Colby, Jared Spearing (Winnipeg, Man.) Indian Hills, Steven Dressler (Burlington, Ont.) Texas-San Antonio, Niall Windeler (Toronto, Ont.) UBC, Chris Sauve-Gebhardt (Mascouche, Que.) Bryan and Zachary Sloan (Brampton, Ont.) Canisius.

Voting (first-place votes in brackets): Stevenson (18) 129, Jafine (10) 102, Gauthier (11) 86, Vickers (8) 70, Spearing (1) 27, Dressler (2) 15, Windeler 11, Sauve 6, Sloan (1) 5.

Right-handers: Matthew Brash (Kingston, Ont.) Niagara, Chris Horvath (Lakeshore, Ont.) Wayne State, Landen Bourassa (Lethbridge, Alta.) Lane and Olivier Mailloux (Quebec City, Que.) Monroe.

Voting (first-place votes in brackets): Gapp (35) 200, Noble (1) 84, Lindsay-Young (5) 51, Thomas (1) 51, Brash (6) 49, Horvath (1) 25, Bourassa (1) 24, Mailloux (1) 5. 

(Two others received less than four points.)

Relievers: Damian Clarke (Carlisle, Ont.) Monroe, Christian Botnick (Brampton, Ont.) UBC, Patrick van den Brink (Surrey, BC) UBC, Zachary Fascia (Brampton, Ont.) Indian Hills, Kristjan Storrie (Langley, BC) Galveston, Talon Kunkel (Saskatoon, Sask.) Union, Jordan Scheftz (North York, Ont.) Central Florida.

Voting (first-place votes in brackets): Lloyd (14) 110, Harvey (14) 103, Mueller (6) 62, Clarke (8) 59, Botnick (3) 34, van den Brink (4) 25, Fascia (1) 19, Storrie 16, Kunkel (1) 12, Scheltz 10.

(Three others received less than five points.)

Catchers: Luke Horanski (Dugald, Man.) Cisco, Evan Willow (Victoria, BC) McPherson, Kole Cottam (Knoxville, Tenn.) Kentucky and Jake Sims (Guelph, Ont.) Roane State.

Voting (first-place votes in brackets): Hrynkiw (18) 155, MacDonald (14) 116, Cuch (13) 104, Horanski (2) 31, Willow (2) 25, Cottam (1) 5, Sims (1) 5.

(Seven others received less than five points.)

First base: David Marcus (Whitby, Ont.) California University of Pennsylvania, Kyle MacDonald (Mississauga, Ont.) Crowder, John Anthony Lantigua (Quebec City, Que.), Western Oklahoma State, Dominic Campeau (Melbourne, Fla.) Cal State San Bernardino.

Voting (first-place votes in brackets): Osborne (39) 209, Rijo 72, Warkentin (5) 70, Marcus (3) 46, MacDonald (1) 27, Lantigua (1) 16, Campeau (2) 10.

(Four others received less than five points.)

Second basemen: Sean Alp (Mississauga, Ont.) Minot State.

Voting (first-place votes in brackets): Young (24) 171, Glaude (12) 142, Pouwells (15) 133, Alp 11.
    
(Three others received less than five points.)

Third base: Mitch Robinson (Surrey, BC) UBC, Nolan Bumstead (Calgary, Alta.), Cal State-Northridge, Tauren Langley (Edmonton, Alta.) Cloud County, Evann Dumont-LaPointe (Kirkland, Que.) Bowdoin.

Voting (first-place votes in brackets): Esau (35) 200, Morris (6) 142, Wilson (4) 38, Robinson (2) 34, Bumstead (3) 21, Langley 16, Dumont-LaPointe (1) 5.

(One other received less than five points.)

Shortstops: Jake Lumley (Windsor, Ont.) Canisius; Royce Ando (Mississauga, Ont.) Michigan State, Conner Morro (Caledon, Ont.) Chattanooga State, Taylor Wright (North Vancouver, BC) Colorado Northwestern.

Voting (first-place votes in brackets): Hewitt (18) 140, Rattai (16) 124, Quirion (5) 68, Lumley (8) 54. Ando (3) 41, Morro (1) 2, Wright 5.

(Two others received less than five points.)

Outfield: Tristan Clarke (Brampton, Ont.) New Orleans, Toby Handley (Whitby, Ont.) Stony Brook, Nick Howie (Oakville, Ont.) Eastern Kentucky, Chris Thibideau (Dartmouth, NS) North Florida, Tanner Kirwer (Sherwood Park) Alta., Niagara, Daniel Szpik (Toronto, Ont.) Florida Tech, Zarley Cina (Kitchener, Ont.) Niagara County, Francis Desilets (Montreal, Que.) Clarendon, Alex Bedard (Quebec City, Que.) Trinidad State, Evan Webb (Whitby, Ont.) Concord, Danny Beaver (Oakville, Ont.) Notre Dame-Ohio, Ryan Humeniuk (Stonewall, Man.) Indian Hills, Griffin Keller (Pilot Butte, Sask.) Northern Oklahoma-Enid, Jordan Schulz (Strasbourg, Sask.) Minot State, Tyson Troscinski (Hanmer, Ont.) Chesapeake, Jean-Francois Garon (Terrebonne, Que.) Bradley, Cole Paquin (Regina, Sask.) Winnipeg

Voting (first-place votes in brackets): Acosta-Tapia (41) 233, Pompey (34) 212, Lacroix (31) 200, Senior (18) 161, Duncan (2) 76, Gladu (5) 75, Robertson (4) 61, Graff-Rowe (3) 49, G. Kirkwood (1) 37, Clarke (2) 31, Handley (3) 27, Howie (2) 21, Thibideau 21, Kirwer (2) 18, Szpik (1) 13, Cina (1) 12, Desilets 12, Bedard 11, Webb 11, Humeniuk (1) 9, Beaver 9, Keller 9, Schulz 6, Troscinski 6, Garon (1) 5, Paquin (1) 5.

(A total of 12 others received less than five points.)

DH: Matt Hilderbrandt (Bowmanville, Ont.) Cuyahoga, Kole Cottam (Knoxville, Tenn.) Kentucky, Vincent Caschera (Sarnia, Ont.) Goshen, Gui Gingras (Levis, Que.) St. John’s.

Voting (first-place votes in brackets): Lloyd (15) 109, Tremblay (14) 103, Lahn (9) 97, Hilderbrandt (7) 59, Cottam (6) 63, Caschera 11, Gingras 10.

(Two others received less than five points.)

Players should let their Sports Information Directors know about their honours.