Betts: Where each Canadian Spring Breakout player played their college baseball

Toronto Mets and Junior National Team alum Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.) went to Cal-State Northridge before he was drafted by the A’s. Photo: Cal-State Northridge Athletics

March 13, 2025

By Matt Betts

Canadian Baseball Network

With Major League Baseball’s Spring Breakout games getting underway, let’s take a look at where each of the 15 Canadians involved played, or committed to play, their college baseball

Toronto Blue Jays:

OF Dasan Brown (Oakville, Ont): Brown committed to Texas A&M University before being drafted in the third round, 88th overall by Toronto in 2019.

Athletics of Sacramento, or Las Vegas, or somewhere in between:

OF Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.): Clarke played three seasons at Cal State Northridge, hitting .298 with 16 home runs and 32 stolen bases. He was then taken by the Athletics in the fourth round, 127th overall in 2021.

INF Myles Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.): Like brother Josh, Myles committed to Texas Tech University but passed on that commitment to sign with the Athletics following the 2023 draft where he was selected in the Compensation A round, 39th overall.

Tampa Bay Rays:

INF Émilien Pitre (Repentigny, Que.): Pitre is one of two players on this list that’s made it to the College World Series as his Kentucky Wildcats played their way to Omaha in 2024. In 134 games with the Wildcats, he hit .307 with an .893 OPS. The Rays made him the 58th overall pick in 2024.

C Nathan Flewelling (Red Deer, Alta.): the Canadian catcher was committed to Gonzaga University but was wooed away by the Rays by being their third-round pick, 94th overall in last year’s draft.

Cleveland Guardians:

LHP Matt Wilkinson (Duncan, BC): All Wilkinson has done in his professional career is produce after being drafted out of Central Arizona College. Over 25 games and 119 2/3 inning across three levels, he owns an 8-6 record and a 1.88 ERA with 177 strikeouts. From CAC, he was committed to Arizona State University.

Kansas City Royals

Eric Cerantola (Oakville, Ont.): Cerantola pitched three seasons at Mississippi State, culminating with a College World Series win in 2021 before being selected by the Royals in the fifth round, 139th overall following the season.

Atlanta Braves:

OF Eric Hartman (St. Albert, Alta.): Hartman bypassed a commitment to the University of Michigan to sign for $337,500 following being the 20th round pick, 611th overall, by the Braves in 2024 out of the Okotoks Dawgs Academy.

RHP Adam Maier (North Vancouver, BC): Maier had an interesting college path en route to becoming a pro. He started at the University of British Columbia, then transferred to the University of Oregon before getting hurt early in the 2022 season. The elbow injury, which required an internal brace, didn’t stop the Braves from selecting him in the seventh round, 215th overall. To emphasize how highly the Braves brass valued the Canadian right-hander, they handed him a well over-slot value $1.2 million to lure him away from another campaign with the Ducks.

INF David McCabe (Oshawa, Ont.): Another former Ontario Blue Jay cracks one of the Spring Breakout rosters in McCabe, who joins fellow alumni Brown and Naylor. During his three years at the University of North Carolina Charlotte, he hit a combined .341, including .386 with 16 home runs and 52 RBIs in 2022 when the Braves scooped him up in the fourth round, 125th overall.

New York Mets:

RHP Jonah Tong (Markham, Ont.): One of the most intriguing young arms from north of the border, Tong was destined for North Dakota State University prior to signing with the Mets after being their seventh round pick, 209th overall in 2022. The 21-year-old has already made two starts at double-A Binghamton.

Philadelphia Phillies:

OF Dante Nori (Toronto, Ont.): Son of former Toronto Raptors assistant coach, Micah, Nori was the first Canadian selected in the 2024 draft when he went 27th overall to the Phillies. He was bound for Mississippi State but never suited up for the Bulldogs thanks to a $2.5 million signing bonus.

Milwaukee Brewers:

OF Dylan 'O’Rae (Sarnia, Ont.): Speaking of the first Canadians taken in the draft, that was O’Rae in 2022 when the Brewers called his name in the third round with pick 102. The speedy outfielder swiped 62 bases last season across stints with High-A Wisconsin and double-A Biloxi. He was committed to the University of Illinois.

San Diego Padres:

C Lamar King Jr (Vancouver, BC): The Padres picked King Jr. away from a commitment to Georgia Tech University by selecting him in the fourth round, 120th overall, in 2022.

Los Angeles Dodgers:

RHP Lucas Wepf (Georgetown, Ont.): Wepf spent three seasons, one of which was the COVID cancelled 2020 campaign, at the University of Louisiana Monroe after a successful junior college career at Pratt Community College. In those three seasons at ULM, he pitched to a 4.88 ERA in 72 innings. Undrafted following his senior season, the Dodgers signed him as a free agent.