Ty Hamilton bound for Salt Lake and the Utah Utes

Watson Elite LHP-OF Ty Hamilton (Orleans, Ont.) has committed to the Utah Utes in Salt Lake City.

March 5, 2023

By Neve Van Pelt

Canadian Baseball Network

From a three-year-old playing catch with his dad, to being a bat boy for the Junior National team, to wearing the Canadian flag himself ... Ty Hamilton has already had an outstanding career and this is the beginning of what’s ahead.

The 2023 Sir Wilfrid Laurier High School grad is set to join the University of Utah Utes program this fall with hopes to make an immediate impact.

Hamilton (Orleans, Ont.) also had some interest from junior colleges but playing in the Pac-12 has always been a dream of his, so when he was offered this opportunity it was a no brainer for him to take it. Especially after attending a UCLA-Utah football game

The mountain views are an added bonus that the 19-year-old is looking forward to, but he’s very excited about getting to the Salt Lake City campus and reconnecting with former Junior National teammates RHP Chase Marshall (Vancouver, BC), RHP Anson McGorman (Parksville, BC), C Cameron Gurney (Scotland, Ont.) and OF Elijha Hammill (Oakville, Ont.), as well as learning from the Utes coaches whom he quickly became fond of.

The young Canadian envisions himself making a positive impact on the team right away with his strong defence in centre field, but he can also be relied on to pitch.

A mentor for Hamilton has been former big-league reliever and Langley Blaze grad Scott Mathieson (Aldergrove, BC), who he has been working with in Florida.

On top of having a bunch of fun catching chickens, fishing, and hunting, he’s been very focused on improving his game and becoming the best he can be.

Mathieson has been able to impact Hamilton in a very positive way, helping him with his pitching mechanics, mindset, and teaching him off-season drills that he can use in preparation for his outings. Also helping out when Hamilton is in Florida is high school coach Rob Ducey (Cambridge, Ont.), the former Toronto Blue Jay.

“The type of mentality you need and the work ethic you need to make it to the next level, just blocking out the noise,” said Hamilton about what Ducey has taught him. “It’s just nice when you have a group of people, him included, that kind of instill the right things in you. Instead of having people kind of just saying the wrong things . . . telling you what you want to hear instead of what you need to hear.”

Hamilton’s often counted on for being a defensive anchor in centre field. He is also focused on becoming a more consistent pitcher and improving his bat.

“I’ve really focused on hitting mechanics and becoming a better hitter as a whole because I know that’s obviously the most important part of the game,” Hamilton said. “My swing’s come a long way since last year. The impact on the ball and in the cage has been night and day so far this year.”

Another person who has been instrumental in Hamilton’s development as a player, and more specifically helping him stay healthy, is Jeff Krushell (Edmonton, Alta.).

When Hamilton was younger, he had back issues that forced him to miss a fair amount of ball in the summer, and for a kid who eats, sleeps, and breathes the sport, that wasn’t easy on him.

It got to the point where he was questioning his long-term health and if he was going to be able to continue to play sports in general, but Krushell wasn’t going to let this be the end of Hamilton’s playing career.

Krushell is a trainer who specializes in sport performance and Hamilton is very thankful for him. In a month and a half after his evaluation and diligently working on the exercises he gave him, Hamilton was completely pain-free and has been since then.

Throughout his career, Hamilton has hit some impressive milestones, including this February when he was presented with the Player of the Year award in Ottawa -- for baseball -- at the annual banquet which recognizes the best of each amateur sport from alpine skiing to wrestling.

“Whenever you get recognized as the best player in the city, that’s always pretty cool,” Hamilton said. “I was definitely honoured and really excited to receive that award.”

It was over two years ago in February 2021 when Hamilton’s eyes were really opened to how much it takes to make it to that next level.

He was in North Carolina for about two-to-three months, and on his own for the first time in his life.

He had the opportunity to play against a team which had Vanderbilt commits and expected high draft selections. He was very impressed to say the least.

Former Watson Elite two-way man Ty Hamilton

“I thought I was working hard, but then I saw them and I’m like, that’s what I need to be doing,” Hamilton said. “I think that was instrumental in my development.”

Fast forward to today, two years later, and Hamilton’s graduating high school and headed to a Pac-12 school with an opportunity to be playing every day as a freshman.

Out of all that Hamilton has achieved so far, there’s one moment in his career that sticks out to him.

Not only competing in the World Junior championship, but a very specific moment against Team USA in the sixth inning. Hamilton was facing one of the toughest pitchers he’s faced, a top prospect who will most likely be a first-rounder this year with runners on first and second.

Hamilton worked himself into a favorable count. When it counted most, he smoked the hardest ball he’s ever hit up the middle to shift the momentum of the game in their favour.

“Everything I’ve been working towards last year kind of led to that moment,” Hamilton said. “It felt like all those people that said, ‘Oh maybe he doesn’t deserve to be on the team’ all that sort of stuff, like if they were watching it kind of silenced them up because I took one of the better pitchers in the world up the middle really hard in the most important game this year for Team Canada.”

Hamilton thrived in this competitive atmosphere and was very happy to help the team and take what felt like a weight off his shoulders.

Hamilton is still a fan of his long hair and rocking his “flow.”

Ty Hamilton is interviewed by Carleton student Mark Colley, voted all-conference first team in uSports at the Canadian Futures Showcase in Ottawa.

For context, when he was younger, during his bat boy days, he was often offered money to cut his hair multiple times and even Canadian Baseball Network’s very own Bob Elliott snuck up behind him -- with borrowed trainer’s scissors -- pretending to cut his hair one morning in St. Petersburg. Yet, Hamilton heard the fake click and was too quick for the speedy Elliott.

It wasn’t until he was about 12 when T.J. Burton of the Blue Jays Academy, offered him a pair of Oakley’s and a follow on Instagram from the Blue Jays account that he finally caved.