Former Okotoks Dawgs OF Micah McDowell (Kentville, NS) had the most votes on the Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian college Third Team.

November 3, 2023

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

Welcome to our 24th annual Canadian Baseball Network college All-Canadian college team ... the best of the best of schools playing the majority of their schedule south of the border.

And for the fourth straight year we are going to build up towards our final announcements.

Batting lead-off ... the Canadian Baseball Network All-Canadian Third Team.

On deck ... the Canadian Baseball Network All-Canadian Second Team.

In the hole ... the 24th annual Canadian Baseball Network Player of the Year.

Next up ... the Canadian Baseball Network All-Canadian First Team and players named to our Honourable Mention list.

And finally …. our stats package.

Most first-place votes on our Third Team: Micah McDowell (Kentville, NS) 17, Nick George (Sarnia, Ont.) 12, Emilien Pitre (Repentigny, Que.) 12, Ricky Sanchez (Okotoks, Alta.) 9, Fynn Chester (Victoria, BC) 5, Kaiden Cardoso (Abbotsford, BC) 5, Layton Cuvilier (Hantsport, NS) 5 and Martin Vincelli-Simard (St-Therese, Que.) 4.

Third team by province: Alberta 3, British Columbia 3, Ontario 3, Quebec 3 and Nova Scotia 2.

Third team by graduating organizations: Okotoks Dawgs 3, Abbotsford Cardinals 1, Academie Baseball Canada 1, Calgary Babe Ruth Blues 1, Dartmouth Renegades 1, Great Lake Canadians 1, Langley Blaze 1, Ontario Blue Jays 1, Royal de Repentigny 1, Terriers 1, Vauxhall Academy Jets 1 and Victoria Mariners 1..

Voting electorate: Our 53 voters included consisted of 22 coaches, from elite programs to colleges on both sides of the border; 16 writers (including eight Canadian Baseball Network staffers). nine pro scouts, four executives, including two SIDs, and two ex-players, counting one Olympian.

Our electorate came from seven different provinces and 12 different states, with voting 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 Pete Berryman son of all-Canadian University of Ottawa linebacker Tim (Pop) Berryman.

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

And as Jackie Gleason used to say “awaaaay, we go,” ...

Third Team

LHP Harley Gollert (Toronto, Ont.) Oral Roberts Golden Eagles.

Gollert went 10-2 with a 4.65 ERA in 18 games -- 17 starts -- as he walked 32 and struck out 94 in 91 innings. Gollert was second in innings pitched amongst Canadians, was tied for third in wins with Matt Wilkinson, with 10 and eighth in strikeouts.

He had victories over Northern Illinois (five innings, one earned run, five whiffs), Texas State (five innings, three runs, five strikeouts), St. Thomas (five innings, two runs, five Ks), Western Illinois (5 2/3 innings, one run, six strikeouts), Omaha (seven innings, two runs, seven strikeouts), Northern Colorado (5 1/3 innings, four runs, seven strikeouts), South Dakota State (six innings, two runs, seven whiffs), St. Thomas (six innings, one run, six Ks), Western Illinois in relief (3 2/3 innings, one run, six Ks) and Southern Indiana (5 2/3 innings scoreless, five strikeouts).

He also pitched six innings allowing one hit and fanning eight in a 12-inning loss to Stephen F. Austin. He earned Second Team All-Summit honours with a perfect 6-0 record in eight appearances, first among all arms, with a 3.50 ERA and struck out 45, 16 looking, in 43 2/3 innings. Gollert, also named to the All-Summit tourney team, started but did not have a decision (4 2/3 innings, five runs, six whiffs) as ORU beat Oregon 8-7 and faced the Florida Gators and took the loss (three innings, five runs, six strikeouts at the College World Series.

An Ontario Blue Jays grad he pitched for coaches Sean Travers and Mike Steed.

Right-hander (tie) _ Cohen Achen (Calgary, Alta.) Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders and Brody Forno (Okotoks, Alta.) Williston State Tetons.

Achen went 6-4 in 12 starts with a 3.16 ERA. He walked only 18 and struck out 110 in 74 innings. On the list of Canadians he was tied for fourth with Connor O’Hallorean in strikeouts and sixth in ERA .

He had wins against Olivet Nazarene (seven innings, zero earned runs, eight strikeouts), Cumberlands (seven innings, three runs, 15 strikeouts), Indiana Southeast (six innings, one run, nine whiffs), Pikeville (seven scoreless, one hit, 11 strikeouts), Tennessee Southern (6 2/3 innings, two runs, 10 strikeouts) and Campbellsville (seven scoreless, nine strikeouts). He recorded seven or more strikeouts in each of his appearances and now sits third all-time on the Blue Raiders’ career-list with 240 total punch outs. Achen had the fourth-most strikeouts in a single season in program history and leading the conference.- -

Achen, who played for the Calgary Babe Ruth Blues and coach Miki Kawahara, gained Mid-South All-Conference First Team distinction, his second and previously he made the CBN All-College Second-Team in 2021.

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Forno was 7-3 with one save and a 2.34 ERA in 12 games, making 10 starts. He walked 31 and struck out 72 in 61 2/3 innings. Amongst Canucks he was tied for ninth with seven wins with Fynn Chester (Victoria, BC), Sean Heppner (Delta, BC), Connor Irvine (Victoria, BC), Gavin Pringle (Duncan, BC), Turner Spoljaric (Lisle, Ont.) and Colton Taylor (Amherstburg, Ont.).

Forno had wins against Anoka-Ramsey (seven scoreless, 12 strikeouts), Mount Marty (six innings three earned runs, nine whiffs), Miles (5 2/3 innings, two runs, seven strikeouts), North Dakota SCS (six scoreless, three strikeouts), Dawson (six innings two runs, three strikeouts), Miles (1 1/3 scoreless) and Southeastern (five innings, one run, six strikeouts).

He pitched for the Okotoks Dawgs and coaches Bretton Gouthro and Kurtis Taylor.

Reliever _ Fynn Chester (Victoria, BC) Cal State Fullerton Titans.

Chester was 7-3 with one save and a 4.21 ERA in 17 games, making seven starts. He fanned 42 in 57 1/3 innings, walking only six batters.He was tied for ninth among Canucks with seven wins even with Brody Forno (Okotoks, Alta.), Sean Heppner (Delta, BC), Connor Irvine (Victoria, BC), Gavin Pringle (Duncan, BC), Turner Spoljaric (Lisle, Ont.) and Colton Taylor (Amherstburg, Ont.).

He had victories against Tulane (two scoreless, a six-up, six-down outing). Texas Longhorns (two scoreless, four strikeouts), UC Davis (2 2/3 innings one unearned run, three strikeouts), UC Santa Barbara (seven innings, one run, two whiffs), UC Riverside Highlanders (one unearned, eight Ks, eight innings), CSU Bakersfield (5 2/3 innings, three earned, three whiffs) and Cal-State Northridge (five scoreless, eight whiffs). And he gained his save against Stanford (four scoreless). He earned Big West Honorable Mention and Big West Academic Honors from ESPN+.

He pitched for the Victoria Mariners and coach Mike Chewpoy, making the Canadian Baseball Network Second team in 2022 as well as Honourable Mention in 2020 and 2018.

Terriers grad C Josh Cote (Midland, Ont.) of the Northeastern Plainsmen.

Catcher _ Josh Cote (Midland, Ont.) Northeastern Community College Plainsmen.

Cote’s OPS was more than impressive ... one you seldom see after 45 games and 137 at-bats. He had a 1.256 mark with 18 doubles, 14 homers, 49 RBIs and a .343 average.

After starting the season hitless in eight at-bats, he went 4-for-4 with a double against Dawson and was 4-for-5 against Luna (two doubles, a homer, three RBIs). Cote had three-hit games against Lamar (three homers, nine RBIs), Lamar again (homer, three RBIs) and McCook (double, two homers, two RBIs).

He had two-hit outings facing Miles (homer, three RBIs), Lamar (double, RBI), CSU Pueblo JVs (double), Otero (double, homer, three RBIs), Western Nebraska (RBI), CSU Club (two doubles, RBI), Western Nebraska (two doubles, three RBIs), Western Nebraska again (double, solo homer) and Western Nebraska again (RBI).

Cote, who played for Terriers and coach Dean Dicenzo, had a memorable four-game series as he collected eight hits -- including four home runs -- and 13 RBIs. Six of his eight hits came in a doubleheader as the Plainsmen scored 46 times. He went 3-for-5 with three home runs and nine RBIs in a 22-18 win and then went 3-for-5 game with a home run and three RBIs in a 24-13 victory.

First base _ Martin Vincelli-Simard (St-Therese, Que.) Sacramento State Hornets.

Vincelli-Simard was second on the team with a .342 average and hits (67) in 56 games, making 50 starts. He led with 16 doubles, 17 homers and 60 RBIs. His 17 home runs helped him collect 35 for his career, tying Harvey Hargrove’s career record set in 1997. In the Canuck rankings Vincelli-Simard was tied for sixth with Bryce Arnold (Grimbsy, Ont.), hitting 17 each. And Vincelli-Simard finished the season ranked 47th in the nation in RBIs per game (1.20) and 75th in slugging percentage. Vincelli-Simard had a team-high 1.092 OPS, including a team-high .684 slugging percentage and a .408 on-base percentage.

This spring he was fourth in the Western Athletic Conference in slugging, tied for sixth in RBIs, fifth in home runs, and ninth in total bases. He finished with multiple hits in 20 games (second on the team), including eight three-hit games, while leading the team with 21 games with multiple RBIs. He had multiple hits in five straight games, batting .545 (12-for-22) in that stretch and finished the year on an 11-game hitting streak, batting .404 (19-for-47) with 16 RBIs, and 10 extra-base hits, including five home runs. In his best game, he drove in a season-high five runs, including a grand slam, against Grand Canyon and slugged two home runs at New Mexico State as part of a three-hit day.

The former Vauxhall Academy Jet, who played for coach Les McTavish, earned All-Western Athletic Conference First Team in 2023 and Western Athletic Conference All-Academic honours for a fifth year.

Second base (tie) _ Émilien Pitre (Repentigny, Que.) Kentucky Wildcats and Ricky Sanchez (Okotoks, Alta.) Barton County Cougars.

Pitre batted .318, starting all 61 games with 16 doubles, a triple, one home run, 51 RBIs and had an .853 OPS. He was 20-for-24 stealing bases and led with 42 walks logging more walks (42) than strikeouts (35). He finished with 71 hits in 223 at-bats. He batted .360 against lefties and .336 with runners on base. He had 16 multi-hit games, including eight with either three or four hits, including going 4-for-4 against eventual national champion LSU, including three hits off No. 1 overall draft selection Paul Skenes. He had a 10-game hit streak and 21-game reached base safely streak.

Pitre, an ABC grad,who played for coach Maxime Hockhoussen, he earned All Southeastern Conference, Second Team and SEC All-Defensive Team and Academic All-District honours.

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Okotoks Dawgs Academy grad Ricky Sanchez (Okotoks, Alta.) drove in 71 runs at Barton. Photo: Todd Moore.

Sanchez hit .323 with 17 doubles, three triples, seven homers and knocked in 71 RBIs. In 59 games he stole 22 bases and had a 1.002 OPS. Sanchez was fifth on the Canucks list in RBIs.

He best game was a four-hit effort facing Western Nebraska (double, homer, five RBIs). He also had three-hit efforts against Northern Oklahoma Enid (two doubles, RBI), Pratt (double, four RBIs), Seward County (double, triple, four RBIs), Butler (two doubles, RBI) and Cloud County (double, RBI). He also had two-hit games against Rose State (two doubles, three RBIs), Western Nebraska (double, four RBIs), Western Nebraska (two RBIs), Kansas Wesleyan JVs (homer, two RBIs), North Iowa Area (one RBI), Colby (two RBIs), Colby (RBI), Pratt (double, triple, two RBIs), Tabor JVs (double, two RBIs), Cloud County (triple), Hutchinson (RBI), Hutchinson (RBI) and Garden City (double).

Sanchez, a Canadian Baseball Network Second Team member in 2022 and a former Canadian Baseball Network Okotoks scholarship award winner, played for Dawgs coaches Tyler Hollick, Val Heldobler and Jeff Duda.

Third base _ Kaiden Cardoso (Abbotsford, BC) Antelope Valley Pioneers.

Cardoso owned a .450 batting average when the dust settled after the Pioneers season. He hit 19 doubles, two triples, 16 homers and 52 RBIs in 44 games. He compiled a 1.387 OPS. On the top 10 Canuck list he was fourth in average, was tied for eighth in doubles with 10th in doubles with Pier-Olivier Boucher (Saint-Joseph-de-Bauce, Que.) and Tim Holyk (Nanaimo, BC) and 10th with 19 with Bryce Arnold (Grimsby, Ont.), Jordan Bach (Delta, BC), Taeg Gollert (Toronto, Ont.), Ethan Hammond (Oakville, Ont.) and Trent Lenihan (White Rock, BC.)

He had four hits with three doubles and a solo homer facing Westcliff. His three-knock performances were against Jessup (three RBIs), Bethesda, Bethesda again (six RBIs), Vanguard, Simpson (three RBIs), Simpson again (three RBIs), Saint Katherine (four RBIs), Saint Katherine again (RBI), Bethesda (six RBIs) and San Diego Christian (RBI). Also he had two-hit outings against Jessup (RBI), Jessup again (RBI), Corban, Corban again (RBI), Saint Katherine (RBI), Benedictine Mesa, San Diego Christian (two RBIs), San Diego Christian again, Providence Christian (three RBIs), Westcliff and Benedictine Mesa (RBI).

Cardoso played for the Abbotsford Cardinals and coach Corey Eckstein.

Shortstop _ Benji Sauve (Mascouche, Que.) Trinidad State Trojans.

Hitting .360, Sauve had 21 doubles, two triples, six homers and 37 RBIs. He stole 18 bases and had a 1.053 OPS in 56 games. He was was tied for seventh with Mike Fitzsimmons with 21 doubles on the Canadians list.

His best game was a 5-for-7 afternoon with a double, home run and three RBIs against Otero and also against Otero, he was 4-for-6 with two doubles and two RBIs. Plus, he had three-hit matches when the opposition was Adams State JVs (double, RBI) and Otero (RBI). Sauve had two-hit games against Seward County (double, RBI), Midland, CSU Fort Collins (double, two RBIs), Otero (RBI), McCook (double), McCook (double, two RBIs), Luna (two doubles, RBI), Adams State JVs (triple), Northeastern, Northeastern again (solo homer), Lamar (double, homer, five RBIs) and Western Nebraska.

Sauve played for Royal de Repentigny in Ligue de junior élite du Québec and coach Mathieu Granger, earned Canadian Baseball Network First Team honours in 2022.

Top vote getter on our third team OF Micah McDowell (Kentville, NS) of the Oregon State Beavers.

Outfielders _ Micah McDowell (Kentville, NS) Oregon State Beavers; Jude Hall (Chilliwack, BC) Yavapai Roughriders and Layton Cuvilier (Hantsport, NS) Sussex County Miners.

McDowell batted .342 with 16 doubles, seven homers and 47 RBIs. He stole 15 bases in 18 attempts, with a .936 OPS in 57 games. He recorded 21 multiple-hit efforts and 11 multi-RBI games, playing in 27 Pac-12 games, starting 26, and batted .317 with nine doubles, two home runs and 22 RBIs, while swiping six bases.

He went 5-for-6 with four RBIs and a double against Coppin State, then homered and set a career-high with six RBIs in a 4-for-4 night against Sam Houston. Memorable games included: going 4-for-5 with two RBIs against Arizona, knocking a three-run home run, and having a 4-for-5 day with three doubles, three RBIs in the series against USC, going 3-for-6 in the finale at UCLA, while driving in three runs, going 3-for-5 facing Grand Canyon, had a 3-for-4 day with a home run in a win over Gonzaga, finishing 3-for-4 and an RBI against San Diego, 3-for-5 at Cal Poly career-high with three hits and RBI against New Mexico.

Also he doubled twice with two RBIs to extend his hit streak to 10 games against Western Carolina, hit his sixth homer against Portland, went deep and was 2-for-3 against UCLA, hitting a bases-clearing double -- the game-winner -- against Utah, knocked a game-winning three-run homer in the seventh at Oregon, dropping two bunt singles against Cal and hitting his first career home run facing Cal Poly.

McDowell, who played for the Okotoks Dawgs and coaches Tyler Hollick, Val Heldobler, Jeff Duda and Alan Cox, earned All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention.

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Hall batted .324 for the Roughriders with 11 doubles, eight triples, eight homers and 33 RBIs. He stole 30 bases and had a 1.141 OPS in 49 games. Hall topped all Canucks in triples and was tied for third in stolen bases with Jason Kauffeldt (Oshawa, Ont.) and Kyle Maves (Burlington, Ont.) with 30 apiece

His best game was against Phoenix when he went 4-for-6, knocking in a pair of runs.He had three hits against Cochise (double, RBI) and Eastern Arizona (double, triple, homer, three RBIs). He had two hit games against Salt Lake (double), Cochise (RBI), Eastern Arizona (triple, two RBIs), Scottsdale Post Grad (triple, RBI), Mesa, Arizona Christian (double, triple), Scottsdale (homer, three RBIs), Pima (triple, RBI), Arizona Western (homer, four RBIs) and South Mountain (double, triple).

A Langley Blaze grad, Hall played for Jamie Bodaly and Doug Mathieson.

* * *

Ex-Dartmouth Junior Layton Cuvilier (Hantsport, NS) of the Sussex County Miners.

Cuvilier finished with a lusty .458 average with six doubles, three triples and 36 RBIs. He stole 21 bases and had a 1.076 OPS in 36 games. He had hits in 32 of them. He was second in average when it came to Canadians and eighth in on-base percentage

He had three hits with a double against Westchester, as well as similar three-hit games facing Lehigh Carbon (RBI), Lehigh Carbon again (triple, three RBIs) and Mercer County (three doubles, RBI). Cuvilier had a rare series of two-hit games -- even against Raritan Valley (triple, RBI), Raritan Valley again (solo homer), Mohawk Valley (RBI), Montgomery, North Central Missouri, Lehigh Carbon (two RBIs), Lackawanna (double, RBI), Morris (two RBIs), Morris again (RBI), Rockland (RBI), Orange County (two RBIs), Lackawanna (RBI) and Morris.

He played for the Dartmouth Renegades and coach was Robbie Goudey as well as Kevin Richardson before that.

DH _ Nick George (Sarnia, Ont.) William Penn Statesmen.

George batted .438 with 13 doubles, a triple, two homers an 43 RBIs in 48 games with a 1.131 OPS. He drew 25 walks and was hit by 11 pitches. On the top Canuck list he was third in on-base and fifth in average

He was 5-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs facing Presentation and went 4-for-5 facing Culver-Stockton with a pair of runs knocked in and was 4-for-6 against Graceland with two RBIs and six runs scored. George had three-hit outings against Saint Mary (double, two RBIs), Park (three RBIs), Culver-Stockton (homer, two RBIs), MidAmerica Nazarene (double, RBI), Graceland (RBI) and Mount Mercy (two doubles, two RBIs). And he had two-hit outings against Park, Culver-Stockton (two RBIs), Grand View (double, RBI), MidAmerica Nazarene (double, RBI), MidAmerica Nazarene (double, two RBIs), Graceland, Clarke (double) and Benedictine (triple, two RBIs).

The Great Lake Canadians grad, who played for coaches Matt Bowden, Shane Davis. Jeff Helps and Brock Kjeldgaard, earned All-Heart of America Conference second team honours, as well as College Sports Communicators academic all-district team and one of the top scholar-athletes in the NAIA as the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America, thanks to a 3.72 Grade Point Average entering the spring semester.