By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

Every fall we would get around to naming the Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian college team. The best players with teams playing the majority of their schedules south of the border.

We decided to name the team despite the fact the spring season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year it is the 21st annual all-Canadian team. We thought we would do it a little different this year.

Up Now ... the Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian Second Team.

On Deck ... the Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian First Team.

And finally ... the 21st annual Canadian Baseball Network Player of the Year ... and we’ll add players named to our Honourable Mention list.

Already posted ... the Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian Third Team.

Most first-place votes on our Second Team: RHP Ben Abram (Georgetown, Ont.) of the Oklahoma Sooners 23, Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.) Cal State Northridge Matadors 19, Antoine Jean (Montreal, Que.) Alabama Crimson Tide 18, Cooper Davis (Mississauga, Ont.) Vanderbilt Commodores 17, Tyler McWillie (Waltrous, Sask.) Colby Trojans 17, Chris Procopio (Toronto, Ont.) Monroe Tribunes 16, Tyler Small (Mississauga, Ont.) Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Golden Norse 15, Malik Williams (Toronto, Ont.) Lipscomb Bison 14, Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.) Arkansas State Red Wolves 13 and Ryan Humeniuk (Stonewall, Man.) Louisiana-Monroe Ragin’ Cajuns 12.

Most first-place votes on our Third Team: Trei Cruz (Houston, Tex.) Rice University Owls 14, Daniel Carinci (Ajax, Ont.) Kansas State University Wildcats 12, Jacob Ervin (Mississauga, Ont.) Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College Golden Norse 10; Evan Magill (Ajax, Ont.) of the Monroe Community College Tribunes 9, Jordan Nwogu (Ottawa, Ont.) University of Michigan 8 and Matt Coutney (Edmonton, Alta.) Old Dominion Monarchs 7.

Second and third team by province: Ontario 16, Quebec 3, Alberta 2, British Columbia 2, Saskatchewan 2 and Manitoba 1.

Second and third team by graduating teams: Ontario Blue Jays 6, Toronto Mets 5, Ducs de Longueuil 2, Okotoks Dawgs 2, Academy Baseball Canada 1, Brampton Royals 1, Calgary Bandits 1, Episcopal High (Houston) 1, Great Lakes Canadians 1, Ontario Terriers 1, Pioneer HS (Ann Arbour, Mich.) 1, Prairie Baseball Academy 1, Rocket de Coaticook 1, Saskatoon Diamondbacks 1, Spruce Grove White Sox 1, St. Francis Academy 1, Team Ontario Astros 1, Vauxhall Acadmey 1, Victoria Eagles 1.

2020 Second Team

Left-hander _ Antoine Jean (Montreal, Que.) of the University of Alabama Crimson Tide.

Jean did not take the usual path Canadian high schoolers follow when they go to play university ball. Usually Year I is sit observe, listen, Year II sees more mound time and Year III you are a solid contributor. Jean made four starts and led Alabama in wins going 3-0 with a 3.18 ERA as he struck out 17 in 17 innings. His three walks tied for the third-fewest in the SEC among qualifying pitchers

He gained the win in his debut against Northeastern, working four innings and allowing four hits and three runs (two earned) with a walk and two strikeouts. He was drafted in the 17th round in 2019 by the Minnesota Twins.

Jean, who played for Academy Baseball Canada and coaches Max Hockhoussen and Robbie Fatal, gained freshman All-American honours from Collegiate Baseball News and had a spot on the SEC First-Year Academic Honour Roll this spring.

Victoria Eagles’ grad Connor Irvine (Victoria, BC)

Right-hander _ Connor Irvine (Victoria, BC) Lassen Community College Hustlin’ Cougars.

Irvine was the workhorse of all the Canuck pitchers who headed south. He pitch 42 innings in seven starts to lead all Canadians, as he walked 12 and fanned 34. He was 4-0 with a find-it-if-you-can ERA of 2.14.

He beat the College of the Redwoods 18-5 pitching 6 2/3 innings, allowing one earned run, while striking out three, the College of the Siskiyous 5-1, a two-hit complete game win, as he fanned six, Butte College 4-3 as he worked six innings, allowing three runs on five hits, while fanning five and Porterville by a 12-0 score pitching four scoreless, as he allowed one hit.

Irvine pitched for the Victoria Eagles and coach Charlie Strandlund in 2019.

Reliever _ Ben Abram (Georgetown, Ont.) Oklahoma University Sooners.

After making the Big 12 All-Freshman Team in 2019 (15 games, 13 starts) Abram worked mostly out of the bullpen last spring. He went 6-4 with a 4.24 ERA with 52 strikeouts in 63 2/3 innings in 2019.

In his only start he pitched five scoreless in a 14-1 win against Texas Southern. He allowed two hits with five strikeouts. He allowed one run in the other five innings he pitched for an 0.90 ERA. He struck out 13 men in 10 innings.

Abram pitched for the Ontario Terriers and coaches Scott VandeValk and Dean Dicenzo.

Catcher _ Garrett Takamatsu (Burlington, Ont.) University of Central Oklahoma Bronchos.

Takamatsu batted .384 with a 1.127 OPS, hitting five doubles, a triple, four homers and 16 RBIs in 19 games. He led the team in hits (28), RBIs, shared the lead in homers, was second in average, slugging mark (.644), on-base percentage (.483) and OPS, and third in doubles.

Takamatsu had his best game against East Central when he went 4-for-5 with an RBI. He also had three-hit outings against Newman (solo, homer) and Fort Hays State (double, RBI).

He had two-hit games playing Oklahoma Baptist (double, RBI), Metro State (solo homer), Metro State (double, RBI), Newman (two RBIs) and Fort Hays State.

Takamatsu, who earned Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian Third Team honours in 2019, played for the Ontario Blue Jays and Mike Steed.

Former Ontario Astros 1B Graeham Luttor (Toronto, Ont.)

First base _ Graeham Luttor (Toronto, Ont.) Midway University Eagles and Tyler McWillie (Waltrous, Sask.) Colby Community College Trojans (tie).

On the season, Luttor hit .346 with five doubles, four homers, 13 RBIs and a 1.187 OPS in 19 games.

His first inning run-scoring double helped Midway to a 3-2 win over Sienna Heights. He hit a 1-2 pitch for his fourth homer in an 8-3 win against Rio Grande, had a run-scoring single in a 9-6 win over Rio Grande and singled in a run in a 16-3 romp over Bethel. He also hit a 2-1 pitch over the left field fence for his third bomb in a 7-1 win over Rio Grande.

He was also named to the Midway Athletic Director’s Honour Roll for the spring 2020 semester. To earn a spot, the student-athlete must maintain a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.

Luttor played for the Team Ontario Astros and coach Jason Booth.

McWillie, who one voter proclaimed had the “best baseball name on the ballot,” batted .400 with a double, a triple, two homers and six RBIs for a 1.189 OPS in 16 games.

McWillie had a pair of hits in a 17-3 loss to Odessa, again in a 12-8 loss to New Mexico Military Institute, in a 5-4 loss to NMMI (triple) and CSU Club.

He homered in a 17-3 win over Dodge City, knocking in three, and he belted a two-run shot in an 11-0 win over CSU Club.

McWillie is an Okotoks Dawgs grad and played for coaches Jeff Duda, Val Helldobler and Tyler Hollick.

Former Ontario Blue Jay Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.)

Second base _ Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.) Arkansas State Red Wolves.

Hicks started all 16 of the Red Wolves contests finishing with a .327 batting average. He led Arkansas State in slugging percentage (.636), on base percentage (.526) and home runs (four). He had a team-high 18 walks, which were the most in the Sun Belt Conference and ninth most in the NCAA.

He had 18 hits, three doubles and one triple on the year driving in 10. Hicks had a team-high 35 total bases. The 2020 NCAA baseball season was cancelled on March 12, 2020, due to the global coronavirus pandemic.

He is a transfer from Mineral Area where he hit .370 with seven home runs and 31 RBIs in 2019.

A Toronto Mets grad, Hicks, who earned Canadian Baseball Network First Team honours in 2019, played for Chris Kemlo and Rich Leitch..

Third base _ Déric Lamonagne (Saint-Amable, Que.) Clarendon College Chaparrals.

Lamonagne hit .328 with four doubles, two triples, three homers and 20 RBIs while compiling a 1.048 OPS.

He had three hits playing Rose State (two doubles, RBI), Ranger (three RBIs), Redlands, Redlands (two homers, four RBIs) and Howard (triple, three RBIs). He also had two hits facing Tyler (double, solo homer) and Redlands (RBI).

Lamontagne, a Canadian Baseball Network honourable mention in 2019, played for Ducs de Longueuil under coaches Louis-Karl Pedneault and Dominic Simard.

Former Ontario Blue Jays SS Tyler Small (Mississauga, Ont.)

Shortstop _ Tyler Small (Mississauga, Ont.) of the Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College Golden Norse.

It didn’t matter that it was a small sample size for Small, who batted .426 (23-for-54) with five doubles, a triple, three homers and 15 RBIs. He had a 1.230 OPS in 16 games.

He had three-hit games against Metropolitan Community College in a 12-2 win (double, triple, two RBIs), in a 16-6 loss to Eastern Oklahoma State (two RBIs), Carl Albert State (two solo homers) and in an 11-4 win over Arkansas Baptist (two RBIs).

Small had a two-hit game in a 15-9 win over Hutchinson (home run, four RBIs),

The Ontario Blue Jays graduate, earned Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian Third Team honours in 2019, and played for coaches Shawn Travers, Joey Ellison and Mike Steed.

Former Toronto Mets OF Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.) makes us think of that old school yard line …”Over the fence is out!”

Outfielders _ Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.) of the Cal State Northridge Matadors, Ryan Humeniuk (Stonewall, Man.) University of Louisiana-Monroe, Cooper Davis (Mississauga, Ont.) Vanderbilt Commodores.

Clarke led the Matadors in home runs (three), average (.400), slugging (.775), on-base percentage (.529) and stolen bases (five) in 15 games, starting 12 games in centre, as well as finishing first in the Big West in on-base percentage and slugging percentage, plus second in stolen bases and home runs, as well as third in average and 10th in doubles (four).

He also topped the team charts with six multiple-hit games. Facing Grand Canyon, he homered in a win, was 2-for-5 with two RBIs and a home run against No. 17th ranked Central Florida and tripled, homered and drove in two runs against Gonzaga. He was named to the Big West All-Academic Team.

Clarke played for the Toronto Mets and coaches Chtis Kemlo and Rich Leitch. He was drafted by the New York Mets in the 36th round in 2018.

Okotoks Dawgs grad Ryan Humeniuk (Stonewall, Man.)

Humeniuk led Louisiana-Monroe hitting .410 with a pair of doubles, a triple, three homers and 14 RBIs for a 1.710 OPS. Humeniuk bested Brayden Cust (Edmonton, Alta.) of the Colby Trojans with the highest OPS.

Besides going against Illinois State and having a 6-for-7 day (double, RBI), he faced the Grambling State Tigers and was 4-for-6 (double, triple, four RBIs).

He also managed three-hit days against Southeast Missouri (double, three RBIs) and Southeastern Louisiana (homer, three RBIs), plus two-hit games against the Grambling (RBI), Illinois State (solo homer), McNeese State and Ole Miss.

An Okotoks Dawgs grad, who played for coaches Jeff Duda, Val Helldobler and Tyler Hollick. he earned aCanadian Baseball Network all-Canadian college team honourable mention in 2019 and was a Second Team member in 2018.

Davis reached base in 16 of 18 games for Vanderbilt, with a team-high 24 hits -- including eight multi-hit games -- and two triples.

He opened the season with a nine-game hit streak and reached base the first 14 games. His best game was probably when he went 3-for-4 facing Dayton and stole a pair of bases.

Davis, who gained Canadian Baseball Network Third team honours in 2019, played for the Ontario Blue Jays and coaches Dan Bliewas and Shawn Travers.

Designated hitter _ Chris Procopio (Toronto, Ont.) Monroe Community College Tribunes and Malik Williams (Toronto, Ont.) of the Lipscomb University Bison (Tie).

Procopio hit an even .400 in 12 games with two doubles, two homers, six RBIs and a 1.153 OPS.

He went deep against Louisburg in a 9-4 loss as he went 3-for-3 with the solo shot and in a 23-3 win against Anne Arundel, as he singled and hit a three-run homer. Procopio had three, two-hit games facing Louisburg, a 16-6 loss (a double), a 6-1 win over Suffolk County and Danville Area (RBI double).

He played for the Brampton Royals and coach Frank Fascia.

Former Ontario Blue Jays Malik Williams (Toronto, Ont.)

Williams had 19 hits in 16 games, batting .297 with a double, four homers, 14 RBIs and an .887 OPS.

His four home runs were the most on the team and was tied for second in the Atlantic Sun conference. He was fourth in the ASUN when it came to knocking in runs.

He had two hits against the Bowling Green State Falcons (solo homer), Ohio State (RBI), Ohio State, Middle Tennessee, Austin Peay and Tennessee Tech (home run, three RBIs). He hit his other homers against Bowling Green and Bradley.

Williams, who played for the Ontario Blue Jays and coaches Sean Travers and Mike Steed, earned Canadian Baseball Network Second Team honours in both 2019 and 2018.

PBA’s Evan Wilde (Airdie, Alta.) of Cloud County.

2020 Third Team

Left-hander _ Evan Wilde (Airdrie, Alta.) Cloud County Community College TBirds.

Wilde was anything but ... walking seven men in 21 1/3 innings. He made three starts in five games, going 3-0.

He won three starts in a row: a 5-4 triumph against Seminole State (allowing one run on two hits and a walk in 3 1/3 innings of relief as he struck out five), a 9-2 win against Marshalltown (one run on four hits, while striking out nine in six innings) and a 3-1 win over Seward County (one unearned run on three hits, nine strikeouts in six innings).

Wilde pitched two innings in an 11-3 win over the Kansas Wesleyan JVs, walking three and striking out three, then he worked four innings allowing one run in an 11-1 win over Butler.

A Prairie Baseball Academy Dawgs grad, Wilde pitched for coach Todd Hubka and before that the Calgary Bandits and coach Mark Zarkowski.

Right-hander _ Jordan Marks (Bright’s Grove, Ont.) Upstate University of South Carolina Spartans.

Marks made four starts and allowed five runs in in 25 2/3 innings. He pitched 7 1/3 scoreless against Long Island allowing four hits and a walk, while striking out nine. He backed that outing up with seven innings allowing zero earned runs (three unearned) on five hits, while fanning six.

Later against Western Kentucky, he pitched six innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and two walks, while striking out 10. And in his fourth outing, he pitched 5 1/3 innings against Western Carolina giving up five runs -- three earned -- on eight hits, as he struck out four.

Marks, who walked three and struck out 29 with a 1.75 ERA, is a Great Lake Canadians grad, who pitched for Adam Stern, Adam Arnold and Chris Robinson.

Toronto Mets grad Jonah Offman (Toronto, Ont.) of the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays.

Reliever _ Jonah Offman (Thornhill, Ont.) of the John Hopkins Blue Jays.

Offman made four appearances on the mound, making one start, pitching to an ERA of 1.72 in 15 2/3 innings. He struck out 26 batters.

He recorded a save against Stevens, pitching four scoreless innings with nine strikeouts and earned the win facing Plymouth State pitching six innings and striking out six.

Against St. John, Fisher allowed two runs in 2/3 of an inning and pitched six scoreless facing Roanoke, as he fanned 10.

Offman, who pitched for the Toronto Mets and coach Chris Kemlo, earned a 2020 CoSIDA All-Academic award and twice was on the Centennial Academic Honour Roll.

Catcher _ Evan Magill (Ajax, Ont.) of the Monroe Community College Tribunes.

Magill was tied for second among Canucks in the home run race with six, one behind leader Brayden Cust (Edmonton, Alta.) of the Colby Trojans. Sam Chaput (Boisbriand, Que.) of Emporia State Hornets, Colby’s Zach Olson (Red Deer, Alta.), and Magill were tied.

Magill batted .306 with a double, 19 RBIs and a 1.238 OPS. He had two-hit games in a 5-1 loss to Louisburg (solo homer) and Anne Arundel (two homers, six RBIs).

He played for the Toronto Mets and coach Chris Kemlo.

Spruce Grove White Sox and St. Francis Academy grad 1B Matt Coutney (Edmonton, Alta.) of Old Dominion.

First base _ Matt Coutney (Edmonton, Alta.) Old Dominion Monarchs.

Coutney hit .286 with two doubles, two homers and 17 RBIs as he compiled an .835 OPS in 16 games.

He started all 16 games at first base, recording a double and a single to produce a season-high four RBIs in the Monarchs’ 11-1 win over Rutgers, after getting two hits and an RBI earlier in the series in an 8-7 win. Coutney doubled, singled and knocked in a pair of runs in a 17-1 win over VMI, He had six multi-hit games.

He was elected to the Virginia All-State University Division Second Team, as voted on by the Virginia Sports Information Directors.

Coutney, who played with the Spruce Grove White Sox, and the St. Francis Academy under Rob Boik, earned Canadian Baseball Network Second Team all-Canadian honours in 2018 and 2019.

Former Toronto Met, K-State’s Daniel Carinci (Ajax, Ont.)

Second base _ Daniel Carinci (Ajax, Ont.) Kansas State University Wildcats.

After making one start at Alabama and transferring, Carinci batted .373 with seven doubles, four RBIs and a .901 OPS.

He led K-State in hitting and tied for the team lead with 22 base hits registering six multi-hit games with a pair of three-hit efforts: against Missouri and Fairleigh Dickinson. He drove in a season-high three runs in a 20-1 victory against FDU and doubled in five of the season’s final six games while recording a base hit in six of the final seven games of the year.

Carinci, who played for the Toronto Mets and coach Chris Kemlo, put together a season-long eight consecutive-game hit streak and a 14-game on-base streak to begin the year. In the field, he did not commit an error.

Ducs de Longueuil and Rocket de Coaticook alum Anthony Quirion (Dixville, Que.) of the Lamar Cardinals.

Third base _ Anthony Quirion (Dixville, Que.) Lamar Cardinals.

He started all 17 games, hitting .324 with a .500 slugging mark and a .342 on-base average. The season ended with him having a nine-game hit streak, and he hit .410 over the last 10 games with a .615 SLG and a .419 OBP.

Overall, he had 22 hits, including three doubles and three home runs with 18 RBIs. He had five multi-hit and five multi-RBI games including a career-best 5-for-5 against Prairie View A&M and a career-best five RBIs against No. 23 ranked Tulane. He finished fourth in the Southland Conference in home runs and second in RBIs. He finished second on the team in average, tied for second in doubles, first in total bases (34), first in slugging percentage, second in total hits and third in on-base percentage.

Quirion earned Canadian Baseball Network Third Team honours in 2017 and 2018. This spring he was named Pre-Season Second Team All-Southland Conference at third base and Pre-Season All-SLC by Perfect Game Scouting Service.

Quirion, who last spring earned Canadian Baseball Network Third Team honours, has played for Ducs de Longueuil and coach Mathieu Adam as well as Rocket de Coaticook and Guy Ainslie.

Shortstop _ Trei Cruz (Houston, Tex.) Rice University Owls.

The Toronto-born Cruz, and the son of former Blue Jays OF Jose Cruz, Jr., batted .328 with seven doubles, a homer and eight RBIs for a .987 OPS in 16 games. He had seven doubles, four behind the Canuck leader Tyler D’Alessandro (London, Ont.) Salem Tigers.

Like his grandfather Jose (2,251 hits in 2,353 games over a 19-year career) and his father Jose, Jr. (1,167 hits in 1,388 games over a 12-year career), Trei has the hitting gene, finishing second on the team in batting (19-of-58) when the season came to an early end. He led the Owls in doubles, runs (nine) and RBIs. He ranked among the Conference USA leaders in walks (18) for a team-best on-base percentage.

He recorded more walks than strikeouts, had six multi-hit games, including four hits against crosstown rival Houston to tie his career-high, including two doubles. He hit a home run for a three-RBI day against Missouri State, drove in two-plus runs in a game three times and hit .320 with runners on base. He played 137 of the Owls 139 defensive innings in the field (98.6%) and made just three errors.

Ontario Blue Jays grad OF Jacob Ervin (Mississauga, Ont.) of the Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Golden Norse

Outfielders _ Jacob Ervin (Mississauga, Ont.) Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College Golden Norse; Jordan Nwogu (Ottawa, Ont.) University of Michigan Wolverines and Dayton Peters (Abbotsford, BC) Mineral Area Cardinals.

Ervin hit .475 with four doubles, a triple, two homers and 19 RBIs with a 1.287 OPS.

His best games were a 12-2 triumph over Metropolitan (double, three RBIs) and a 10-9 win against Connors State (double, triple, four RBIs).

Ervin had two-hit games in a 4-3 win against Metropolitan (double, RBI), a 10-6 loss to Eastern Oklahoma State (solo homer), an 11-2 win against Carl Albert State (RBI) and a 7-0 win against Arkansas Baptist (double, three RBIs).

A grad of the Ontario Blue Jays, Ervin played for coach Joe Ellison and Mike Steed, after playing for Mississauga North Tigers and the best groundskeeper/convenor in Mississauga (north of Burmanthorpe).

Nwogu started all 15 games in the Michigan outfield and led off every game, leading the Wolverines with a .353 batting average, a .456 slugging percentage and two home runs. He finished the season with 24 hits, two home runs and a double.

He started the 2020 campaign -- cancelled after 15 games due to the global COVID-19 pandemic -- on an eight-game hit streak. He reached base in all but one game, including 12 straight. He had eight multi-hit games, including a four-hit performance against Cal Poly.

Nwogu went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and a double against UConn on February 22 and hit first home run of the season the previous day. He also had a 3-for-4 day with a stolen base against Cal Poly.

Dayton was not the only Peters on our all-Canadian ballot. Dayton and Tristan Peters, of Chandler-Gilbert, combined to hit six doubles, three triples, six homers, 25 RBIs and combined to hit .377. Dayton had an OPS of 1.296 with three doubles, a triple, four homers and 19 RBIs.

His best game production-wise might have been a 28-4 win over Kellogg when he went 4-for-5 (two homers, four RBIs).

Dayton managed three-hit outings in a 13-3 win against Frontier (double, homer, seven RBIs) and had a pair of hits in an 8-1 win against Bevill State (double, two RBIs) and in a 13-3 loss to Metropolitan.

He played for the Vauxhall Academy Jets and coach Les McTavish.

Former Saskatoon Diamondbacks DH Nolan Machibroda (Saskatoon, Sask.)

Designated hitter _ Nolan Machibroda (Saskatoon, Sask.) Southeastern University Fire.

Machibroda had two doubles, three homers and 15 RBIs in 24 games, while hitting .286 with an .896 OPS.

He was 3-for-5 against Thomas and enjoyed two hits playing Ave Maria. Machibroda hit a three-run homer facing Grand View, a solo shot against Warner and a homer, a base hit and five RBIs against Ave Maria.

Machibroda played for the Saskatoon Diamondbacks and coach Matt Kosteniuk, as well as being with Team Saskatchewan, Canada Cup winners in 2016 with coaches Greg Brons, Neil Hogg and Kosteniuk.

Elliott: CBN All-Canadian 2nd Team: Abram, Clarke, Jean, Davis, McWillie, Small