October 7, 2024

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

Welcome to our 25th annual Canadian Baseball Network All-Canadian college team ...

And they said it would not last.

Thanks to the coaches, scouts, writers and others for voting over the years. And especially Pete Berryman for compiling all the stats.

It gives us a chance to give recognition to the best of the best of schools playing the majority of their schedule south of the border.

And for the fifth straight year we are going to build 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 25th annual Canadian Baseball Network Player of the Year.

Next up ... the 25th 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 _ Brandon Nicoll (Langley, BC) 13, Josh Cote (Midland, Ont.) 10, Haden Dow (Saint John, NB) 7, Greg Lachance (Whitby, Ont.) 7, Owen Luchies (Victoria, BC) 7, Tom Poole (Calgary, Alta.) 7, Cleary Simpson (Elnora, Alta.) 7 and Luis Pimentel-Guerrero (Burlington, Ont.) 6.

Third team by province: Ontario 5, Alberta 2, British Columbia 2, New Brunswick 2 and Quebec 1

Third team by graduating organizations: Langley Blaze 2, Absolute Baseball Academy 1, Academie Baseball Canada 1, Great Lake Canadians 1, Jonquière Voyageurs 1, Ontario Blue Jays 1, Prospects Academy 1, Red Deer Carstar Braves 1, Terriers 1, Toronto Mets 1, Vauxhall Jets and Victoria Eagles 1.

Voting electorate: Our 55 voters included consisted of 18 coaches, from elite programs to colleges on both sides of the border; 14 pro scouts, 13 writers (including eight Canadian Baseball Network staffers), six executives, one man who might be an illegal booster and one player.

Hats off: We might do something special for the 25th annual college team. A year ago we mailed Canadian Baseball Network hats across the country to members of the Canadian Baseball Network First Team. The brains of the website -- Ryan Isaac -- came up with the idea. Hey hat wearers ... Why not send us a picture and we’ll post it on our Instagram page?

Starting with Brady Cerkownyk (Etobicoke, Ont.) Connors State Cowboys, Canadian Baseball Network player of the year and a First Team member behind the plate. The rest of the first team inculded: LHP Matt Wilkinson (Ladner, BC) of the Central Arizona Vaqueros, RHP Matt Duffy (Burlington, Ont.) Canisius Golden Griffins, RP L.P. Langevin (Quebec, Que.) Wabash Valley College Warriors, 1B Robin Villeneuve (Gatineau, Que.) Weatherford Coyotes, 2B Aaron Marsh (Nanaimo, BC) British Columbia Thunderbirds, 3B Austin Gomm (Mississauga, Ont.) Parkland Cobras, SS Bryce Arnold (Grimsby, Ont.) Campbell Camels, OF Jordan Bach (Ladner, BC) Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Golden Norse, OF Ethan Murdoch (Swift Current, Sask.) McCook Indians, OF Pier-Olivier Boucher (Saint-Joseph-de-Bauce, Que.) Southern Illinois Salukis and DH Noah Hull (Scarborough, Ont.) University of Mary Mauraders.

Third Team

Left-handed starter - Haden Dow (Saint John, NB), Southeast Missouri State Redhawks.

Dow led all Canuck lefties in innings pitched -- working 79 frames -- as he went 4-2 with a 4.89 ERA in 17 games, making 16 starts. He walked 31 and struck out 58.

After playing for the Prospects Academy for coaches Taylor Burns, Ethan Elias and Conner Burns, as well as the Spruce Grove Cardinals and coach Sean Erikson, he headed to Cloud County for 2021 and 2022 seasons. For the Redhawks, he recorded wins against St. Thomas (seven innings, allowing three runs -- two earned, while fanning five), Toledo (six scoreless, two walks, nine Ks), Tennessee Tech (seven scoreless, four hits, four whiffs) and Lindenwood (eight innings, seven hits, three runs, six walks an four strikeouts). In five of his 16 starts, he pitched six or more innings. He lost to Arkansas Little Rock.

Right-handed starter - Owen Luchies (Victoria, BC), Lower Columbia Red Devils.

Luchies had the lowest ERA of any Canuck righty at 1.51. He was 9-2 in 13 starts walking only 10 and striking out 51.

He gained wins against Chemeketa (three innings, one run), Bellevue (six innings, six hits, four runs -- two earned -- one walk, seven strikeouts), Shoreline (five scoreless, four hits, four strikeouts), Edmonds (5 1/3 scoreless five hits, five Ks), Columbia Basin (five scoreless, two hits, two whiffs), Olympic (five scoreless, two hits, eight strikeouts), Pierce (six innings, 10 hits, two runs, one earned, two strikeouts), Grays Harbor (six innings, six hits, two runs, nine strikeouts) to earn the right to host a playoff and Blue Mountain (six innings, three hits, one run, five strikeouts) at the NWAC championships in Longview, Wash.

A former Victoria Eagle, he earned NWAC second-team All-Conference honours.

Reliever - Liam Watt (Burlington, Ont.), LSU Eunice Bengals.

Watt made 21 appearances, making eight starts, going 7-2. He walked 21 and struck out 73 in 68 2/3 innings.

He had four wins as a starter against North Iowa Area (four innings, one hit, two runs, one earned, four whiffs), Delgado (three runs -- two earned -- in 6 1/3 innings, one walk, four strikeouts), Tyler (5 2/3 innings, six hits, one run, one walk, eight strikeouts) and Jones College (six innings, four hits, two runs, one earned, one walk and six strikeouts). Plus, he had wins in relief against Monroe (1 1/3 innings, two runs, two strikeouts), St. Johns River State (2 2/3 innings scoreless, one hit, two strikeouts) and Brunswick (3 2/3 innings allowing three hits, a run, a walk and two whiffs) at NJCAA Division II championship in Enid, Oak.

The former Ontario Blue Jay pitched for coaches Mike Steed and Joey Ellison. Watt helped Team USA to a silver medal performance at the Haarlem Baseball Week in The Netherlands pitching for National Junior College Athletic Association All-Stars. Watt picked up the win in relief in the 2-1 win over The Netherlands.

Catcher - Josh Cote (Midland, Ont.) Northeastern CC Plainsmen.

Cote owned a 1.219 OPS with nine doubles, two triples, 21 homers and 65 RBIs in 54 games for the Northeastern Huskies.

Cote had three hits against Dawson (with a double and a solo homer), Dawson (triple, homer, five RBIs), Southeast (solo homer), McCook (homer, five RBIs), Lamar (homer, two RBIs) and Western Nebraska (solo homer).

He collected two-hit games against the Park University JVs (double, RBI), Arizona Western (double, RBI), Dawson (double, homer, five RBIs), CSU Club (two homers, three RBIs), CSU Pueblo JVs (double, RBI), Trinidad State (double, RBI), McCook (homer, RBI), Otero (solo homer), Otero (homer, two RBIs) and Western Nebraska (two-run homer).

Cote, who played for Terriers and coach Dean Dicenzo (Hamilton, Ont.), earned Region IX All-Conference honours this spring.

First base - Tom Poole (Calgary, Alta.), Dallas Baptist Patriots.

Poole owned a four-figure OPS of 1.147 in 46 games with the Dallas Baptist Patriots. He batted .345 with 13 doubles, two triples, 13 homers and 37 RBIs.

He homered against Baylor (solo, also a triple), Florida International (plus a double, three RBIs), Stephen F. Austin (plus a double, three RBIs), Jacksonville State (three RBIs), Liberty (three RBIs), Liberty, Middle Tennessee (4-for-4, three RBIs), Louisiana Tech (plus a single), Arizona (two home runs, four RBIs) and Grand Canyon (two doubles, six RBIs).

Poole, who played for the Langley Blaze and coach Jamie Bodaly and with Phil Curtis and Neil Gidney at Absolute Baseball Academy, earned Canadian Baseball Network All-Canadian First Team honours in 2022.

Second base - Greg Lachance (Whitby, Ont.) Jefferson (MO) Vikings.

Another owner of a four-digit OPS, Lachance finished with a 1.135 OPS thanks to 14 doubles, seven homers and a .408 batting average in 43 games at Jefferson College.

He stole 35 bases behind only Ben Hoshizaki (Calgary, Alta.) of Chandler-Gilbert with 45, Keegan Martin (Newmarket, Ont.) of Frontier with 42 and Jordan Lewis (Toronto, Ont.) of Florida National with 40.

He had three-hit games against Danville Area (with a double, homer, two RBIs), Three Rivers (three RBIs), Mineral Area (double, RBI), Three Rivers (two homers, six RBIs) and State Fair (RBI). As well, he had two-hit outings facing Northeast Mississippi (double), Northeast Mississippi (RBI double), Olney Central (double), McHenry County (two homers, six RBIs), Metropolitan (RBI), Metropolitan (RBI), State Fair, State Fair (RBI), State Fair (RBI), East Central (RBI), East Central (double), Three Rivers (double, two RBIs), Three Rivers (RBI), Mineral Area (double) and St. Louis.

He is a graduate of the Toronto Mets program, playing for coaches Ryan McBride and Rich Leitch.

One-time Red Deer Carstar Braves Cleary Simpson (Elnora, Alta.) of the Northern Kentucky Golden Norse.

Third base - Cleary Simpson (Elnora, Alta.), Northern Kentucky Golden Norse.

Another player with a 1.000-plus OPS (1.010) as he batted .345 with 12 doubles, four triples, six homers and 48 RBIs in 58 games for Northern Kentucky. He drew 54 walks compared to 44 strikeouts, stole 16 bases in 18 tries and posted 21 multi-hit games.

In Northern Kentucky’s first ever NCAA appearance, he blasted a lead-off home run against No. 1 ranked Tennessee. During the season, he also homered against Wright State (twice), Ohio, Miami of Ohio and Oakland.

The former Red Deer Carstar Brave, who played for coach Randy Gehring, earned First Team All-Horizon League honours.

Shortstop - Brandon Nicoll (Coombs, BC) Southern Arkansas Muleriders.

Nicoll led all Canuck shortstops in homers with 13. He batted .316 with 12 doubles, 44 RBIs and a .976 OPS in 50 games for Southern Arkansas. He homered against Southeastern Oklahoma, Harding, Arkansas-Monticello and Henderson State (twice each), plus once each facing Maryville, Arkansas Tech, East Central, Oklahoma Baptist and Ouachita. His 13 bombs were, the sixth-most in the GAC.

He led the Muleriders in hits (60), doubles, RBIs, total bases (111) and slugging percentage (.597). Nicoll’s 12 doubles give him 58 for his career which is the 11th most among active DII players and a top 40 mark among all active NCAA players. He registered the second-most runs (43), multi-hit games (17), three-plus hit games (four) and multi-RBI games (10). He recorded his 200th career hit against Southern Nazarene and moved inside the program’s career top 10 in hits (223), is inside the program’s top five in doubles (58), home runs (38) and RBIs (196) and is the fourth in program history with 400 total bases (409).

Nicoll, who played for the Langley Blaze and coach Jamie Bodaly, was a Canadian Baseball Network All-Canadian College First Teamer in 2022 as well as earning Canadian Baseball Network Honourable Mention in 2023. He earned All-Great American Conference Team First Team honours this spring.

Outfielders - Luis Pimentel-Guerrero (Burlington, Ont.), Hutchinson Blue Dragons; Charles Davalan (Montreal, Que.), Florida Gulf Coast Eagles and Demitri Shakotko (Fredericton, NB), Cloud County T-Birds.

Former FieldHouse Pirates Luis Pimentel-Guerrero (Burlington, Ont.) Hutchinson Blue Dragons. Photo: Prep Baseball Kansas

Pimentel-Guerrero batted .386 with 19 doubles, three triples, nine homers and 79 RBIs for the Hutchinson Blue Dragons. As well, he owned a 1.114 OPS in 62 games. His best game came against Johnson County when he went 4-for-5 with two doubles. Pimentel-Guerrero registered three-hit nights against Rose State (three hits), Coffeyville (solo homer), Garden City (double, homer, four RBIs), Seward County (two doubles, RBI), Barton (two RBIs), Barton (RBI) and Allen County (double, RBI).

And he contributed two hits against McLennan (double), McLennan (RBI), Coffeyville (homer, two RBIs), Coffeyville (homer, three RBIs), Garden City (three RBIs), Butler (double, two RBIs), Colby (five RBIs), Colby (two doubles, RBI), Pratt (two doubles, two RBIs), Seward County (solo homer), Seward (double, three RBIs), Dodge City (homer, two RBIs), Kansas City Kan. (two RBIs), Cloud County (homer, two RBIs) and Labette.

The graduate of FieldHouse Pirates played for coach Jimmy Richardson.

Davalan hit 16 doubles, two triples, 10 homers and knocked in 37 runs as a freshmen. He had a .937 OPS in 56 games for the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles.

He had three-hit games against Xavier (solo homer), Bellarmine and Lipscomb (three doubles), plus two hits against TCU (triple, two RBIs), Bethune-Cookman, Florida State (solo homer), South Florida, Kennesaw State (two RBIs), Queens (solo homer), Florida International, South Florida (RBI), Austin Peay (RBI), Lipscomb, Jacksonville (two doubles), Jacksonville (double, homer, two RBIs), Eastern Kentucky (double) and North Florida (solo homer).

And not that it counts in the voting, but he ‘popped’ summering on the Cape, performing with the Cotuit Kettleers, entering the transfer portal and now he is with the Arkansas Razorbacks. Davalan played for Robert Fatal with the Academie Baseball Canada and in Jonquière Voyageurs for coach Michael Bélanger.

Shakotko finished with a .410 average, hit 15 doubles, eight homers, 58 RBIs and a 1.036 OPS in 61 games for Cloud County.

The single-season record holder in hits (94), Shakotko was second on the team in RBIs. In his 60 starts, he had 26 multi-hit games, including a pair of four-hit performances and had one of three games by a T-Bird this year with at least five RBIs.

The former Vauxhall Academy Jet, who played for coach Les McTavish, earned Canadian Baseball Network All-Canadian team Honourable Mention in 2023.

DH _ Rees Kozar (Amherstburg, Ont.), Niagara Purple Eagles.

He hit .309 with five doubles, a triple, nine homers and 31 RBIs, and posted a .929 OPS, in 50 games with the Niagara Purple Eagles. He split time between DH and the outfield last spring.

Kozar had a .503 slugging percentage and a .411 on-base percentage, stealing stole four bases and drawing 19 walks. He was hit by a pitch 11 times and had nine multi-RBI games and 16 multi-hit games. He notched his first hit against Richmond and belted his first homer against Marist. In fact, he hit homers in three straight games against Marist.

A graduate of the Great Lake Canadians, who played for coaches Adam Stern, Brock Kjeldgaard, Jeff Helps, Jamie Romak and catching coach Chris Robinson, Kozar was named to the MAAC All-Rookie Team.