Ontario Blue Jays grad SS Brendan Lawson (Toronto, Ont.) earned Perfect Game Rawlings pre-season All-American honors.

March 18, 2024

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

Last August when scouts began evaluating Canadians for the 2024 draft, two names were atop the list:

Brendan Lawson and Dante Nori.

And they still are.

Both Lawson (Toronto, Ont.), a former Ontario Blue Jay, and Nori (Toronto, Ont.) earned spots on the annual Rawlings-Perfect Game Preseason All-American teams.

Former Leaside SS Lawson is now at P27 Academy, while OF Nori, the son of former Toronto Raptors scout and assistant coach Micah Nori, lives in Northville, Mich. and plays for the Canes National. Lawson has committed to the Florida Gators, while the speedy Nori is bound for the Mississippi State Rebels.

The annual Rawlings’ and Perfect Game’s Preseason All-American teams were selected from 450,000 high school players across North America.

A total of 57 Canadians made the first team from the Canada/Puerto Rico Region.

The Ontario Blue Jays lead the way with 11 current and past players chosen: RHP Matthew Brown (Carlisle, Ont.), RHP Makaio Cisneros (Whitby, Ont.), RHP Liam Cruickshank (Mississauga, Ont.), 1B Daniel Devapalan (Brampton, Ont.) LHP Lachlan Harrison (Mississauga, Ont.), 1B Jericho Morris-Johns (Stouffville, Ont.), C Brayden Ricketts (Brampton, Ont.), RHP Owen Slater (Whitby, Ont.), RHP Anthony Unga (Oakville, Ont.), OF Jorge Valdes (Milton, Ont.) and Lawson.

The Academie Baseball Canada was next with nine selections to the First Team from the Canada/Puerto Rico region. They were followed by the Great Lake Canadians, Okotoks Dawgs and Toronto Mets with six each and the Mississauga Tigers with five.

The 6-foot-5, 252-pounder RHP-1B Jake Hanley and Nori made the Central Region’s First Team. Hanley’s father Todd Hanley is from Dartmouth, N.S. and pitched for the University of Toledo Rockets from 1988 to 1993. Pitching for his Mason, Ohio High School, Jake already hit 95 mph in his high school’s opening scrimmage. Hanley pays homage to his father wearing a Canadian maple leaf on his glove.

A host of Canucks were named pre-season honourable mention led by the Ontario Blue Jays with 10. Next were Great Lakes and the Team Ontario Astros with six apiece, followed by the ABC and FieldHouse Pirates with five each. The Langley Blaze and Ontario Nationals were next with four apiece.

A young Dante with his fave then Reds’ 1B Joey Votto (Etobicoke, Ont.)

First Team Senior Preseason All America

Name Position Hometown Team Commitment

Brendan Lawson SS Toronto, Ont. Ontario Blue Jays/P27 Academy Florida

Dante Nori OF Northville, Mich. Canes National Mississippi State

Canada/Puerto Rico Region First Team

Name Position Hometown Team Commitment

Seth Ainsworth RHP Sarnia, Ont. Great Lake Canadians Hutchinson CC

Luca Alagheband LHP Toronto, Ont. Mississauga Tigers Harvard

Brodey Bitove OF Toronto, Ont. Toronto Mets Pepperdine

Benito Bonilla 3B Halifax, NS Okotoks Dawgs Missouri State

Brycen Brittain C St. Catharines, Ont. Ontario Royals Cuyahoga CC

Matthew Brown RHP Carlisle, Ont. Ontario Blue Jays/P27 Academy Oklahoma State

Guillaume Bussiere SS Beloeil, Que. ABC/TNXL Academy

Tate Carey RHP Windsor, Ont. Great Lake Canadians Michigan

Makaio Cisneros RHP Whitby, Ont. Ontario Blue Jays/TNXL Central Florida

Abraham Contreras OF Blainville, Que. ABC

Dawgs 3B Leo Cote (Ste-Catherine De Hatley, Que. )

Leo Cote 3B Ste-Catherine De Hatley, Que. Okotoks Dawgs Oregon State

Liam Cruickshank RHP Mississauga, Ont. Ontario Blue Jays South Florida

Josh Davis OF Guelph, Ont. Great Lake Canadians Troy

Anthony Deblois RHP Saint-Isidore, Que. ABC

Daniel Devapalan 1B Brampton, Ont. Ontario Blue Jays South Florida

Stefan Di Corrado 3B Mississauga, Ont. Mississauga Tigers

Owen Fernandes RHP Maple Ridge, BC Langley blaze

Connor Gaitens C Courtland, Ont. Great Lake Canadians

Luke Glenn RHP Queensville, Ont. Toronto Mets Niagara

Loic Guillemette LHP St-Boniface, Que. ABC/TNXL Academy Florida International

Thomas Hanger SS Toronto, Ont. Mississauga Tigers Texas Tech

Lachlan Harrison LHP Mississauga, Ont. Ontario Blue Jays/Georgia Premier Academy Sox

Eric Hartman OF Okotoks, Alta. Okotoks Dawgs Michigan

Ian Huang SS Surrey, BC Langley Blaze

Ryan (RJ) James RHP Toronto, Ont. Toronto Mets Evansville

Nolan Jomphe 1B Quebec, Que. ABC

Asafa Jones OF Toronto, Ont. Team Ontario Astros Jackson State

Raphael Lantigua OF Québec, Que. ABC/Team Elite

Brendan Lawson SS Toronto, Ont. Ontario Blue Jays/P27 Academy Florida

Rémi Lemay OF Ste-Martine, Que. ABC

Jack Lines SS Okotoks, Alta. Okotoks Dawgs/TNXL Florida State

Kyu Lumsdon RHP Langley, BC Langley Blaze

Sam Maclaughlin LHP Toronto, Ont. Fieldhouse Pirates Missouri State

Tate Martin SS Vancouver, BC North Shore Twins North Dakota State

Gianluca Montanaro C Aurora, Ont. Toronto Mets Bossier Parish

William Moore SS Paris, Ont. Great Lake Canadians Indiana

Jericho Morris-Johns 1B Stouffville, Ont. Ontario Blue Jays Wabash Valley

Jerome Pare RHP Montreal, Que. Okotoks Dawgs Gonzaga

Will Polanco-Ethier OF Laval, Que. ABC

Ryan Press LHP Toronto, Ont. Toronto Mets West Virginia

Brayden Ricketts C Brampton, Ont. Ontario Blue Jays Indiana

Josiah Romeo RHP Caledon, Ont. Mississauga Tigers Florida State

Evan Schweizer RHP Oakville, Ont. Great Lake Canadians Purdue

Owen Slater RHP Whitby, Ont. Ontario Blue Jays Missouri State

David Stanley OF Toronto, Ont. Mississauga Tigers

Ethan Swaby RHP Toronto, Ont. Toronto Mets

Carson Tehan RHP Lasalle, Ont. Windsor Selects

Alex Uher RHP Pickering, Ont. Toronto Mets Northwest Florida State College

Anthony Unga RHP Oakville, Ont. Ontario Blue Jays

Jorge Valdes OF Milton, Ont. Ontario Blue Jays West Virginia

Jacob Wallace RHP Pincourt, Que. ABC Louisiana-Monroe

Michael Yusypchuk RHP Edmonton, Alta. Okotoks Dawgs Missouri State

First Team Senior Preseason All America

RHP-1B Jake Hanley of Mason, Ohio also earned first team honors, his father Todd Hanley is from Dartmouth, NS

Central Region

(Ilinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.)

Name Position Hometown Team Commitment

Jake Hanley RHP-1B Mason, OH Cincy Flames Indiana

Dante Nori OF Northville, Mich. Canes National Mississippi State

Canada/Puerto Rico Region Honorable Mention

Name Position Hometown Team Commitment

Lucas Alberti OF Toronto, Ont. Ontario Blue Jays George Mason

Mason Ault C Ancaster, Ont. Ontario Blue Jays East Tennessee State

Jayden Bailey LHP Collingwood, Ont. Toronto Titans Michigan State

Cameron Baker C Mississauga, Ont. Ontario Blue Jays Southwest Tennessee CC

Hunter Ballantyne RHP Brantford, Ont. Great Lake Canadians

Adam Beamin RHP Okotoks, Alta. Okotoks Dawgs

Étienne Bélanger C Levis, Que. Voltigeurs Drummondville.

Jacob Belecky RHP Komoka, Ont. London Badgers

Avery Belgrave OF Hamilton, Ont. Fieldhouse Pirates

Reuben Benzaquen SS Vaughan, Ont. Toronto Titans

Rehaan Bhullar 1B St. Davids, Ont. Team Ontario Astros/IMG

Nolan Bigras RHP Burlington, Ont. Terriers

Andrew Bishop 1B Kitchener, Ont. Ontario Nationals Georgia Highlands

Max Burroughsford RHP Port Dover, Ont. Ontario Blue Jays

Frank-Anthony Caietta RHP Bradford, Ont. Ontario Blue Jays New Jersey Tech

FieldHouse Pirates RHP Adam Cameron (Oakville, Ont.)

Adam Cameron RHP Oakville, Ont. Fieldhouse Pirates

Zach Cavanagh 3B Chilliwack, BC Langley Blaze Wright State

Cooper Clark 3B Thorndale, Ont. Great Lake Canadians

Anthony Clavet 3B Quebec, Que. ABC

Félix-Antoine Côté INF Quebec, Que. ABC

Bryce Cross OF Georgetown, Ont. Terriers

Nathan Currah LHP Georgetown, Ont. Terriers Akron

Jesse Dale 3B Toronto, Ont. Ontario Blue Jays

Alex Digiacinto 3B Richmond Hill, Ont. Team Ontario Astros

Shaymus Dunton RHP Langley, BC Langley Blaze

Tristan Eberle RHP Regina, Sask. Team Saskatchewan Arizona Western

Anderson Fenwick C Mississauga, Ont. Mississauga Tigers

Lewis Foster RHP Toronto, Ont. Ontario Blue Jays

Luke Foulds RHP Thunder Bay, Ont. Great Lakes Canadians

Aidan Gelhard RHP Newmarket, Ont. Team Ontario Astros

Garen Geoghegan 3B Victoria, BC Victoria Eagles

Carter Germain LHP Maple Ridge, BC Langley Blaze

Gaël Gilbert RHP Carignan, Que. Patriotes De Mortagne

Josh Gladstone RHP Victoria, BC Victoria Eagles

Alexander Graham 1B North York, Ont. Team Ontario Astros

Ontario Royals’ INF Cam Gravelle (Smithville, Ont.)

Cam Gravelle SS Smithville, Ont. Ontario Royals Toledo

Joël Grégoire RHP Blainville, Que. ABC

Kylan Hampton SS Kitchener, Ont. Ontario Nationals

Cameron Johnson LHP Burlington, Ont. Ontario Blue Jays/TNXL Academy Rutgers

Ethan Lapointe LHP Windsor, Ont. Windsor Selects Eastern Michigan

Sam Lauzon RHP Gatineau, Que. Canada Reds

Charles Lavigne 1B Blainville, Que. ABC

Hayden Le 1B Oakville, Ont. Fieldhouse Pirates

Jack Lee C Woodstock, Ont. Great Lake Canadians

Jerome Félix Lessard RHP Saint Joseph Du Lac, Que. ABC Okanogan

Rory MacDonald RHP Halifax, NS Team Nova Scotia/Vauxhall

Joey Marino SS Surrey, BC Delta Blue Jays

Braxton Mathews OF Kitchener, Ont. Ontario Nationals

Ryan McGivney C Whitby, Ont. Ontario Prospects

Jacob McLean C Prince George, BC Prince George Knights

Trevor Mulder RHP Amherstburg, Ont. Tecumseh Thunder/PYF Rays

Trey Nott RHP Okotoks, Alta. Okotoks Dawgs Chandler-Gilbert

Jevon Parent RHP Saskatoon, Sask. Saskatoon Cubs/Team Saskatchewan

Shayne Pellin LHP Saint-Lazare, Que. LaSalle Cardinals/TNXL Academy

Maddox Quesnelle RHP Newmarket, Ont. Toronto Mets Kankakee

Ontario Blue Jays SS Owen Ralph (Toronto, Ont.) is off to Lindenwood

Owen Ralph SS Toronto, Ont. Ontario Blue Jays Lindenwood

Thomas Reilly RHP Oakville, Ont. Ontario Blue Jays

Ian Roberts RHP Burlington, Ont. FieldHouse Pirates

Julian Robertson RHP Aurora, Ont. Team Ontario Astros

Mark Rogers LHP Cambridge, Ont. Great Lake Canadians

Zev Salsberg RHP Toronto, Ont. Ontario Royals/A3 Academy

Codi Scott LHP Thamesford, Ont. Great Lake Canadians

Philip Sephton C North York, Ont. Ontario Yankees

Cole Smith RHP Lynden, Ont. Fieldhouse Pirates Mary

Dante Smith OF Ajax, Ont. North Dakota State

Sam Spencer RHP Toronto, Ont. Toronto Mets Southeastern

Pelham Statton RHP Vancouver, BC Okotoks Dawgs Miami

Christos Tassopoulos 2B Stouffville, Ont. Team Ontario Astros

Jack Thompson RHP Langley, BC Langley Blaze Mary

Kai Thompson RHP Kitchener, Ont. Ontario Nationals

Raynell Tirado RHP Montreal, Que. Canada Reds

Thomas Valero 3B Toronto, Ont. Ontario Blue Jays Lewis and Clark

Braedyn Vogstad OF Leduc County, Alta. Parkland Twins

Hudson White LHP St. John’s, NL Bo Jackson Elite Illinois State

Ethan Wolf OF Duart, Ont. Great Lake Canadians

Elliott: Lawson, Nori PG Pre-season All-Americans, 57 make Canada region first team