February 21, 2024

By Julia Gardiner

William & Mary Athletics

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – For the 17th consecutive year, William & Mary baseball head coach Mike McRae was recognized as one of the top 100 most influential Canadians in baseball by Canadian Baseball Network, this year coming in at No. 44.

In 17 years, since the inception of Bob Elliott's recognition of the most influential Canadians in baseball in 2007, McRae (Niagara Falls, Ont.) has appeared on every one, ranking as high as No. 26.

The recognition was announced for 2023, following a 3-1 beginning to the 2024 campaign as the Green & Gold opened the season with a series win over Holy Cross and a whopping 10-1 victory at Richmond on Tuesday.

The Tribe's strong 2024 start follows his second year at the helm of W&M, in which he led the team to its winningest season since 2019 and saw to two of the program's highest MLB Draft picks, including Ben Williamson in the second round at No. 57 overall to the Seattle Mariners – the second highest in program history. Williamson was named CAA Player of the Year as well as First-Team All-CAA and was joined by returning reliever Carter Lovasz on the All-CAA First Team.

Notably in 2023, McRae's pitching staff finished ranked ninth in the nation with a 4.17 ERA. W&M returned seven arms active on last year's staff for the 2024 campaign, including three who saw 48+ innings.