Former Grand River Flying Squirrels LHP Jackson Soucie (Cambridge, Ont.) is the Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian college player of the year.

November 7, 2024

By Matt Betts

Canadian Baseball Network

The days after the 2023 National Junior College Athletic Association World Series championship game were an emotional time for left-handed pitcher Jackson Soucie.

Not only did his Wabash Valley Warriors fall to the College of Central Florida, a game in which he threw 4 2/3 innings of relief in front of 11,969 fans, but he had a decision to make.

Soucie (Cambridge, Ont.) had two choices: leave the team he came heartbreakingly close to winning it all with after one season or return for another chance as a sophomore.

Initially, it appeared as though he would head to the University of Oregon to play for the Ducks. But upon further consideration and discussion, he decided to go back to Wabash Valley. A gamble on himself of sorts.

While the Warriors didn’t end up making it back to the World Series, it was still an impressive second year for the southpaw as he garnered Great Rivers Athletic Conference and Region 24 Pitcher of the Year honours after posting an 8-2 record to go along with a 2.18 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 70 1/3 innings.

On top of this, he has been voted the 25th annual Canadian Baseball Network All-Canadian college Player of the Year. Soucie had 39 first-place votes from the electorate of 55 voters ahead of 2B Emilien Pitre (Repentigny, Que.), of the Kentucky Wildcats, who had 29 first-place votes and Jakob Poturnak (Vancouver, BC), of the Cloud County T-Birds, had 28.

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On deck ... the 25th Canadian Baseball Network All-Canadian First Team and players named to our Honourable Mention list.

And finally … our stats package.

Already posted … The Canadian Baseball Network All-Canadian college Third Team.

The Canadian Baseball Network All-Canadian college Second Team.

The 25th annual Canadian Baseball Network Player of the Year.

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“My main goal with going back to junior college was to help my team win a national championship,” Soucie said.

“We fell short of the goal but it was still a very successful year for me personally with the awards I was able to win. I was able to play another year with the guys I called my brothers and made memories along the way.”

The best route for a high schooler -- either junior college or a four-year school -- and which is better for a player’s development is the age-old question that has no universal answer.

Simply put, it depends on the player in question. The former worked out for Soucie, as he transferred to the University of South Carolina Gamecocks in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference.

But even he wasn’t sure if returning for a second year was the right choice at first.

“I always think about whether or not it was the right decision to go back to Wabash and I always fall back on the answer of -- yes, it was the best decision for me,” he said.

“The lessons I learned went further than baseball. My head coach Aaron Biddle and the rest of the coaching staff did an amazing job not only developing guys as ball players but also as young men off of the field.”

As for if he would recommend the route for others, he believes it’s the answer for many who aspire to play at a four-year school or professionally.

The differences between the two levels can be stark, starting with the long hours where the regulations on practice times aren’t the same as the NCAA, he said.

Playing in the SEC, the facilities he now finds himself in are topnotch, which isn’t always the case at junior colleges. For Soucie, it was humbling and exactly what he needed to get the best out of himself.

“They taught me that nothing is given, everything is earned and to earn it you have to be the hardest worker in the room,” he said of his junior college coaches.

“I recommend this route for a lot of guys because it teaches players how to be a hard worker and stay humble. Out of high school I thought I was the top dog and that everything would be given to me because of the stats I had behind me. I got a much needed reality check my first year and that has changed my game a lot in ways I didn’t know I needed.”

Soucie now has his eyes firmly on playing a big role on the Gamecocks’ pitching staff in 2025 and hopefully hearing his name called in the Major League Baseball draft. It’s a goal that he appears closer to reaching than ever before.

When he does take a moment to reflect on his baseball experiences, he thinks of a valuable lesson he’d love to share with the player he used to be.

“If I were to give my younger self a piece of advice for the future, I would say to trust that everything happens for a reason and enjoy every moment because they don’t last forever,” he said.

“All of the ups and downs have meanings and lessons.”

* * *

Previous Canadian Baseball Network College Player of the Year winners

2023 _ C Brady Cerkownyk (Etobicoke, Ont.) Connors State Cowboys.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Bold indicates big-league service time.)

Betts: Soucie’s JUCO path paved way to CBN Player of Year honours and South Carolina