Shushkewich: McCook always cookin' with Canucks like Murdoch, Shaver, Wouters

Canadian Baseball Network All-Canadian Team Second Teamer Cory Wouters (Saskatoon, Sask.) in 2024. Photo: McCook Athletics

February 23, 2025

By Tyson Shushkewich

Canadian Baseball Network

Playing in the NJCAA at the D1 level, McCook Community College is a grueling 12-hour drive from the North Portal border crossing in Saskatchewan to North Dakota but the program has started to become a hotbed when it comes to hosting Canadian baseball players over the past decade.

Nestled in the southwest corner of Nebraska sits the small city of McCook, with a population of under 8,000 people. Established in 1882, the city is named in honour of Alexander McDowell McCook, a high-ranking officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Despite its smaller population, the city is home to a branch of Mid-Plains Community College and also where the McCook Indians play, a program that has been competing in Nebraska since being established under head coach Jon Olsen in 2002. Olsen spent five seasons at Independence Community College as the head coach following the inaugural 2002 season but returned five years later. A McCook native, Olsen has been at the helm ever since.

The first wave of Canadians to MCC began in 2010-11 with a trio of Canucks from the prairies heading south in LHP Thomas Hanley (Calgary, Alta.), C Brant Hittel (Medicine Hat, Alta.) and RHP Danny MacKinnon (Calgary, Alta.). Hanley appeared in four games with a 1-1 record in 11 innings while Hittel batted .194 in 31 at bats. MacKinnon had no reported appearances with McCook.

There was a period when Canadians weren’t on the McCook roster but they picked up steam heading into the 2015-16 season with LHP Jonathan Reid (Mississauga, Ont.). Reid made 12 starts through 15 appearances with them before transferring to Grambling State.

This opened the floodgates for Canucks in the program, with eight players calling McCook home for the 2016-17 season. This included outfielder Jake Sanford (Cole Harbour, N.S.) who is the most decorated alumni from McCook. He spent two years with the Indians before transferring to Western Kentucky. He was a third-round pick of the New York Yankees in 2019.

“McCook was the perfect program to continue my playing career after high school,” said Sanford (Cole Harbour, NS). “They work you hard there and they prepare you for the next steps in your career because they know that the next step for many is to transfer to another program to try and gain more exposure for things like the draft or even scholarship opportunities at four-year programs.”

OF Jake Sanford (Cole Harbour, NS), was a force with McCook.

Sanford credited McCook coach Olsen for preparing him for his future. He used a wood bat during his time with MCC. He ranks highly across McCook record books, including first in RBIs (55) and total bases (133) as well as second in home runs (13 and 12 in 2017 and 2018 respectively).

“What McCook is doing is so important, getting players from Canada more exposure into potential D1 through D3 institutions. We were a tight-knit group and being away from home, having so many Canadians was a huge help off the field to help with that adjustment period. It really played a big part in my playing career, as it helped with my transition to Western Kentucky to get drafted and continue playing,” said Sanford.

These sentiments were echoed by Johnny Giunta (Milton, Ont.), a former teammate of Sanford who has a life behind the lens and microphone, as he and Avery Chenier (Georgetown, Ont.) form the dynamic duo of the Gate 14 Podcast.

“McCook was really ahead of its time in recruitment in my opinion, using different social media sites and different showcases to connect with travel programs in Ontario and Canada to establish those connections,” said Giunta. “The school really set the standard in terms of making things comfortable for players. Not only was I playing with a bunch of Canadians, making life easier off the field, but the facilities were of a higher standard than any other program on the NJCAA circuit.”

Now Giunta and Chenier have a popular Blue Jays-centered podcast. Giunta -- who hit .163 with two doubles, a homer and six RBIs in 19 games in 2017 as McCook went 29-26 -- remembers his time in Nebraska fondly and the memories that were made south of the border.

“It was such a cool experience, you and a bunch of your guys all trying to win and celebrating each others’ accomplishments,” said Giunta. “From 4 a.m. workouts to hitting home runs, you make a ton of memories on the field but I think you make even more off the field because of the small community aspect and just grinding each day to continue playing the game you love. Always supporting each other and trying to get better.”

Over the years, McCook has continued to gain traction in hosting players from the Great White North. They featured eight Canadians in 2016-17 and 11 on the 2017-18 squad and have continued to have at least a handful of Canucks on the roster every season since. The program has even expanded outside of the United States and Canada in recent memory, playing host to players from Puerto Rico, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Australia and Israel.

Heading into 2024-25, McCook features 13 Canadians on its roster: Maddox Shaver (Belleville, Ont.), Carter Smith (Ottawa, Ont.), Jeff Bullock (Medicine Hat, Alta.), Corbin Lochhead (Vegreville, Alta.), Chase Williams (Brampton, Ont.), Kaden Noble (Orillia, Ont.), Leif Friedrich (Surrey, BC), Julian Alvarez (Vaughan, Ont.), William Leroux (Terrebonne, Que.), Landen Zehr (Kitchener, Ont.), Eli Dunphy (St. John’s, Nfld.), Ben Hatfield (Athens, Ont.) and Cory Wouters (Saskatoon, Sask.).

McCook’s Maddox Shaver (Belleville, Ont.),

Only Friedrich, Shaver, and Wouters are sophomores and the latter is working on a stellar season that saw him set program records in 2024.

On the all-time McCook leaderboard, Wouters sits second in single-season batting average (.416) and tied for eighth and ninth in singles (51) and hits (72) respectively. He finished 2024 on the all-Midlands JUCO team and was named Region IX’s freshman of the year while playing multiple positions, including 11 games on the mound. His performance also earned him a Canadian Baseball Network Second Team selection.

“The biggest reason I went to McCook was because of how the coaches ran the program,” said Wouters. “They put a lot of things in place so you can get better development-wise but also give you access to the facilities so you can work on things 24/7. I had also heard some good things about the program from other Canadians and the coaches were on board with me being a two-way player, which I really liked. I wanted to continue playing on both sides of the ball and coach Olsen and the staff let me play across the diamond.”

Similar to Sanford and Giunta, Wouters echoed the sentiments about the team atmosphere and the memories being made amongst the group.

“I love hanging out with the guys and going through everything together as a unit,” said Wouters. “We are all going through the same things, myself, the other Canadians, the players from the USA and elsewhere, but we all became a family, and going through these experiences with them all has been so much fun. I am excited to continue playing here and seeing what the future has in store.”

Each year, more and more Canadians are finding homes south of the border to continue playing college ball. Ten years ago, there were 609 Canadians playing at college programs that play the bulk of their schedules in the United States. Heading into this spring, the number is now at to 1,131 and counting. C Kieran Cutler (Paradise, Nfld.) is committed to MCC for the 2025-26 season.

It’s a testament to how Canadians continue to impress on the diamond, and a program like McCook has been exploring these avenues for years, reaping the benefits. The road hasn’t always been easy, but almost every alumni that was consulted for this article had nothing but good things to say about the program and playing for the NJCAA program.

“I would say it’s not going to be easy,” said Giunta, offering his insight on playing at the next level. “A lot of kids quit in the fall or go into it thinking it will be easy going but you have to understand, you will be doing workouts and programs that you won’t want to do and nothing is going to be handed to you.

“All of it is to make you better on the field and a lot of it will be your love of the game and your teammates getting you through those times, which is what separates McCook from a lot of other programs. They set a high standard for building those bonds and it goes a long way.”

Added Wouters: “My biggest piece of advice for guys in high school would be to enjoy what you do, there will always be bad days or bad games but at the end of the day, you get to play the sport you love every day. If you come in with the mentality that ‘I need to keep improving’, whether that is in the gym or on the field, you will fit in just fine. You and all your teammates have the same goal in mind.

“I can’t thank McCook enough for the opportunity to continue playing this game and bringing me closer to this group of friends.”

McCook players honoured on CBN All-Canadian Teams

Jake Sanford earned Canadian Baseball Network Honorable Mention honours in 2018.

LHP Braden Babcock (Oshwa, Ont.) was an Honorable Mention in 2018 and 2019. He was 4-5 in 13 games with a 3.53 ERA, striking out 64 in 58 2/3 innings in 2018 and 3-0 with a 2.15 ERA in five games, fanning 39 in 29 1/3 innings in 2019.

In 2023, Michael Quick (Oshawa, Ont.) earned an Honorable Mention when he hit .362 with 17 doubles, six triples, six homers, 51 RBIs and a 1.020 OPS. He received another Honorable Mention in 2024 when he batted .468 with 15 doubles, two triples, six homers, 50 RBIs and a 1.037 OPS.

As noted earlier, Cory Wouters (Saskatoon, Sask.) earned Second Team honours in 2024.

The only McCook player to earn Canadian Baseball Network First Team honours has been Ethan Murdoch (Swift Current, Sask.) in 2023 when he batted .397 in 62 games with 23 doubles, four triples, 18 homers, 82 RBIs and 1.245 OPS.