Five Canadian Griffs on MAAC 40th anniversary team
Photo: Canisius College Athletics
November 16, 2020
Official Canisius College Athletics News Release
The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) will be celebrating its 40th anniversary throughout the 2020-21 academic year, continuing its mission to provide student-athletes the opportunity to succeed in both academics and athletics.
The 40th Anniversary Baseball Team highlights some of the best student-athletes in MAAC history. MAAC baseball traces back to 1982, when Army captured the first MAAC Championship with the best regular season record. From 1982-93, the MAAC Baseball Champion was determined by regular season conference records. From 1990-93, the MAAC, which was split into two divisions, had a North Division Champion and a South Division Champion.
The Canisius baseball team has claimed three MAAC Tournament crowns since 2013, with the most recent title coming in 2018. The Golden Griffins are one of six current MAAC members to boast three or more conference championships in program history.
The five former Griffs honoured on the MAAC 40th Anniversary Team are Shane Davis (Belmont, Ont.) '11, Sean Jamieson (Simcoe, Ont.), '11, Kevin Mahoney '09, Connor Panas (Toronto, Ont.) '15 and Jason Rausch (Kitchener, Ont.) '93. Also honoured to the team is former head coach Mike McRae (Niagara Falls, Ont.), who is one of three coaches selected to headline the 40th Anniversary Team.
Shane Davis • 2008-11
The program's career leader in wins (35), complete games (21) and innings pitched (364 1/3), Shane Davis was a four-year letterwinner for the Griffs from 2008-11… In 2008, Davis became the first player in MAAC history to be named the conference's Pitcher of the Year and Rookie of the Year after he won 12 games on the mound, with 10 of those outing being complete games… A three-time All-MAAC honoree, Davis was an all-regional pick in 2008, the same season where he was named to a pair of All-America teams… After ending his career at Canisius, the Belmont, Ont., native went on to be selected in the 42nd round of the MLB Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays.
Sean Jamieson • 2010-11
A two-time All-MAAC First Team selection, and the 2011 MAAC Player of the Year, Sean Jamieson played two seasons at Canisius after joining the program from Niagara County Community College… In his time on Main Street, Jamieson hit .361 with 20 home runs – both numbers that rank among the program's top-10 all-time… In 2011, the Simcoe, Ont., native led the Blue and Gold with his .350 batting average to go along with 60 runs scored, 13 doubles, 13 homers, 51 RBI and 22 stolen bases… A two-time all-regional pick, Jamieson became the first male in school history to be named the MAAC's Student-Athlete of the Year after his senior season… Jamieson, who has represented his home country of Canada in multiple world baseball tournaments, was drafted in the 17th round of the 2011 MLB Draft by the Oakland A's.
Kevin Mahoney • 2006-09
The 2009 MAAC Player of the Year and a two-time ABCA All-Regional First-Team selection, Kevin Mahoney played 261 career games as a Griff from 2006-09… A two-time All-MAAC honoree, Mahoney hit .323 with 52 doubles, eight triples, 47 homers and 187 RBI… He ranks in the top-five in 10 different statistical categories in the school's record book, and he shares the school mark for home runs in a game after he hit three bombs against Siena on April 20, 2008… His 47 career homers are tops at Canisius, and ranks third-best in the MAAC record book, and he ranks fourth in league history with his 187 career runs batted in… After ending his career at Canisius, he was drafted in the 23rd round of the 2009 MLB Draft by the New York Yankees… He was inducted into the Canisius Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.
Connor Panas • 2012-15
One of the most decorated student-athletes in Canisius' history, Connor Panas was a four-year starter for the Golden Griffins from 2012-15… He was named the MAAC Male Student-Athlete in both 2013-14 and 2014-15, making him just the third male student-athlete in league history to win that award in consecutive seasons, and he was a three-time All-MAAC honoree on the field as well... One of three players in program history to be voted the MAAC Tournament MVP, he will forever hold the distinction of being the first player in school history to hit a home run in a NCAA Tournament game... He was drafted in the ninth round of the 2015 MLB Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays, the earliest draft position for a Canisius player since 1994.
Jason Rausch • 1990-93
A four-year letterwinner for the Griffs from 1990-93, Jason Rausch hit .374 in his time in Blue and Gold, which ranks fourth-best in school history… Rausch also ranks second in the school's record book in both career slugging percentage (.675) and on-base percentage (.478)… A two-time All-MAAC honoree, Rausch was the program's all-time leader in home runs upon his graduation, and he also ranked second in career RBI and third in career batting average… He was inducted into the Canisius Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.
Mike McRae • 2005-17
Mike McRae, the only baseball coach to be named the MAAC Coach of the Year at two different schools, spent 16 seasons as a head baseball coach in the conference, with 13 of those campaigns being spent as the skipper for the Canisius baseball team… In 2005, McRae started a total rebuilding project of the Golden Griffins, taking over a team that won just four games in 2004 to winning the program's first two MAAC Championships and making the program's first appearances in the NCAA Tournament in 2013. McRae posted a record of 405-336 in his time at Canisius, including a 298-200 (.598) record in the final eight seasons that includes three MAAC regular-season crowns.
A four-time MAAC Coach of the Year, he led Canisius to the conference tournament in each of the last 12 seasons… Canisius saw 13 players, including two draft-eligible juniors, associated with the program selected in the Major League Baseball Draft during McRae's tenure, the most in the MAAC over that time period. Additionally, six Canisius players were named All-Americans, the only six All-America honorees in the program's history. He is currently an assistant/pitching coach at VCU.