November 21, 2022

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

The trumpets were assembled.

The cheer squad was about to lead the 129-piece marching band into our palatial offices with the big news. Live coverage provided by CKWS would see our host introduce the Canadian Baseball Network All-Canadian College Team First Team and the CBN Player of the Year.

Hold the band. Send them back to the end zone ... as officials attempted when coach Joe Kapp’s California Golden Bears used five laterals on a kickoff return to score the winning touchdown in the final seconds for a 25–20 win over the Stanford Cardinals.

Thinking that the game was over, the Stanford band rushed the field during the kick return, which was rather prolonge. There were six laterals and pitch outs, a couple of times the Bears player looked down — but was not. And finally Kevin Moen, after dodging Stanford tacklers, saxaphonists and clarinet players with the ball carried the ball into the end zone flattening a trompbone player.

Now that Hot Rod Black had the scoop -- 1B Matt Coutney (Wetaskiwin, Alta.) of the Old Dominion Monarchs is the Canadian Baseball Network’s 23rd annual Player of the Year -- it is time to operate as we have every other year.

Our Canadian Baseball Network First team

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In the hole ... Our Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian Honourable Mentions, along with how the voting broke down ... And finally our stats package.

Already posted ... Hot Rod Black with the Canadian Baseball Network Player of the Year scoop … Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian Second Team … and the Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian Third Team.

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First Team

Left-hander - Connor O’Halloran (Mississauga, Ont.) Michigan Wolverines.

O’Halloran went 5-4 with a 5.44 ERA in 19 games, making 18 starts striking out 104 in 97 innings. He scored wins against Louisville (four innings, eight strikeouts, two runs), Dayton (13 whiffs, eight innings, one run), Michigan State (5 2/3 innings, eight strikeouts), Iowa (seven scoreless, eight strikeouts) and in the B1G Tournament semifinal game against Iowa (four innings, one unearned run, two strikeouts). He also left a start against Cal State Fullerton tied 1-1 (7 1/3 innings, four strikeouts),

He sat second among Canadians in innings pitched and was tied for second in strikeouts with Lassen’s Connor Irvine. O’Halloran moved into 10th place on the Michigan single-season strikeout list with six strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings of work in a no decision against Oregon. O’Halloran pitched for the Ontario Terriers under coaches Joe Ianuzzi, Ian Bala and his father, Greg O’Halloran, the former major leaguer.

Right-hander: Matt Duffy (Burlington, Ont.) Canisius Golden Griffins.

Duffy pitched seven scoreless in a complete-game effort against Niagara in the Metro Atlantic Conference championship opener, striking out seven and then he pitched 3 1/3 in relief in the championship game against Rider, whiffing four. He was 8-2 with a 3.81 ERA in 17 games -- making 16 starts, striking out 124 in 104 innings. He set school and conference records for strikeouts in a season. He beat Pittsburgh, Morehead State, Charleston Southern, Quinnipiac, Marist, Siena, Monmouth and Niagara.

He led all Canucks in strikeouts and innings pitched, as well as being tied for second in wins, one behind Seth Gurr (Coaldale, Alta.) and Jonathan Henry (Whitby, Ont.), who had nine each. Duffy was named MAAC Championship MVP (one run allowed in 10 1/3 innings, 11 strikeouts), earned All-Conference First Team (2022) and All-Academic Team. His father, Phil, signed with the Kansas City A’s and went 3-0 for the 1964 rookie-class Wytheville A’s. Duffy, who played for the Great Lake Canadians and coaches Chris Robinson and Adam Stern, gained Canadian Baseball Network Honourable Mention in 2021.

Okotoks Dawgs grad Matt Wilkinson (Ladner, BC)

Reliever: Matt Wilkinson (Ladner, BC) Central Arizona Vaqueros.

Wilkinson was 5-2 with two saves and an impressive 1.87 ERA as he struck out 85 in 53 innings. He had wins over New Mexico Junior College (four strikeouts in 2 2/3 scoreless), Pima (three whiffs in 1 1/3 innings), Arizona Western (two scoreless, two strikeouts) and Yavapai College (1 2/3 scoreless with four strikeouts). His three saves came against Western Nebraska (eight strikeouts in three innings) and Mesa (a scoreless inning with two Ks).

Wilkinson appeared in 19 games making three starts, including pitching six scoreless -- seven strikeouts -- as No. 6 seed Central Arizona beat No. 2 seed Wabash Valley 5-4 to go to 3-1 in the Alpine Bank NJCAA Division I JUCO World Series at Grand Junction, Col. Central Arizona lost the opener 5-4 loss to Crowder, then won a 16-4 win against San Jacinto, secured an 11-3 win over Crowder, then the Wabash win, next a 7-4 win against Walters State and then a 4-2 win in the championship against Cowley. Wilkinson pitched for Jeff Duda and the Okotoks Dawgs.

Toronto Mets grad Ryan Leitch (Whitby, Ont.)

Catcher: Ryan Leitch (Whitby, Ont.) Marshall Thundering Herd.

Leitch batted .307 with 17 doubles, a triple, 12 homers, 43 RBIs and a .931 OPS. His best performances included games against BYU (double, three RBIs), Indiana State (two doubles, RBI), St. Bonaventure (two hits, including a double, three RBIs), Northeastern (two hits), St. Bonaventure (homer, three RBIs), Oakland (two hits, including a double), Oakland (three knocks, including two doubles, four RBIs), Oakland (two hits, three RBIs) and Eastern Kentucky (two hits). He was also excelled against Merrimack (homer, three RBIs), Ohio State (two hits, counting a double), Florida International (three hits, including a solo homer), Rice (three hits with a double, RBI), Alabama-Birmingham (two hits with a double) and West Virginia (two hits, a homer, two RBIs). He also had strong games against Middle Tennessee (two hits, a double, homer, two RBIs), Ohio (three hits, two doubles, a homer, two RBIs), Louisiana Tech (two hits, double, two RBIs), Louisiana Tech (two hits, triple, homer, two RBIs), Western Kentucky (two hit, including a double), Texas-San Antonio (two hits), Old Dominion (two hits with a double), Florida Atlantic (two hits, solo homer), Florida Atlantic (two hits, double, RBI) and Florida Atlantic (two hits, RBI).

Leitch played with the Toronto Mets for coaches Rich Leitch, Paul Thorpe and Frank Maury, before learning the ‘We Are Marshall’ cheer.

First base: Matt Coutney (Wetaskiwin, Alta.) Old Dominion Monarchs.

Courtney slugged his way to his position, batting .376 with 27 home runs, 70 RBIs and a whopping 1.281 OPS in 58 games. He led Old Dominion in average, homers, hits, slugging percentage and on-base percentage. His 27 homers, 70 RBIs and 66 runs scored were all program records. He was third in the country in homers and fifth in slugging. He sits second in program history with 39 career home runs. And he didn’t hit his first homer of the spring until the 10th game of the season against Bryant. He was 5-for-7 with two homers and three RBIs in a 23-7 win at Middle Tennessee State, had four multi-home run games and tied a program record with a home run in five-straight games, with two of the five multi-homer games. He knocked the fences down against Marshall (two doubles, three RBIs) and MTSU (4-for-5, homer, three RBIs).

He led all Canadians in home runs, was fourth in hits behind Ricardo Sanchez, Max Grant and Ottawa’s Jonah Weisner. For Coutney, who played with the Spruce Grove White Sox, and the St. Francis Academy under Rob Boik, this is the fifth time he has made the Canadian Baseball Network All-Canadian College Team. He gained Second Team honours in 2018 and 2019, as well as a Third Teamer both in 2020 and 2021.

Former Vauxhall Academy Jet 2B Max Grant (Fredericton, NB)

Second base: Max Grant (Fredericton, N.B.) Canisius Golden Griffins.

In the spring of 2022, Grant batted .398 with 14 doubles, six triples, 10 homers and 53 RBIs in 54 games with a 1.135 OPS. He went 4-for-6 against Siena and had five RBIs in a game against Marist. Grant led the MAAC and ranked 14th nationally with his batting average. He recorded multiple hits in 27 games, highlighted by six four-hit performances with his conference-leading 90 hits the second most in a season by a Canisius player. Grant topped the MAAC and finished 10th nationally with six triples, recording his 100th career hit with a two-run home run against Niagara. Yet his best series was against Marist when he batted .625 (10-for-16) with four extra-base hits and 12 RBIs during the three-game series.

He was second in hits, one behind Ricardo Sanchez, tied for second in triples behind Jonah Weisner of Ottawa U and Caleb Feuerstake of McPherson on the Canuck list. Grant earned ABCA/Rawlings Second Team All-American honours. He was also a NCBWA Second Team All-American pick, gained All-MAAC First Team selection and was MAAC Player of the Year. He was also named to the MAAC All-Championship Team after hitting .440 (10-for-18) with six RBIs during four tournament games. A CoSIDA Academic All-District selection, he was named Canisius Male Athlete of the Year. Grant played for the Vauxhall Jets and coach Les McTavish.

3B Brandon Nicoll (Coombs, BC) is a former Langley Blaze

Third base: Brandon Nicoll (Coombs, BC) Southern Arkansas Muleriders.

Nicoll was the best at the hot corner. He hit .333 with 26 doubles, two triples, 14 homers and 84 RBIs to go with a 1.023 OPS. His best games were against: Northwest Missouri (three hits, including a homer, two RBIs), Pittsburgh State (two hits, homer, three RBIs), Northwestern Oklahoma State (two doubles, three RBIs), Southwestern Oklahoma (two hits, two RBIs), Southwestern Oklahoma (two hits, two RBIs), Mississippi College (two doubles) and Arkansas Tech (two hits, three RBIs). He also excelled against Ouachita (three hits, with double, homer, five RBIs), Ouachita (double, triple, homer, four RBIs), Arkansas-Monticello (three hits, including a double, homer and three RBIs), East Central (two hits), East Central (two hits, including a double, three RBIs), Southeastern Oklahoma (two hits, including a homer, five RBIs), Arkansas Tech (two hits, including a double) and Henderson State (three hits, two homers, three RBIs). He also enjoyed standout performances against Henderson (three hits, two doubles, two RBIs), Henderson (two hits, double), Harding (three hits, double, RBI), Harding (three hits, double, RBI), Oklahoma Baptist (two hits, double, two RBIs), Southern Nazarene (two hits, solo homer), Texas A&M Texarkana (two doubles, two RBIs), Arkansas Monticello (two hits, two RBIs), Arkansas Tech (two hits, including a homer, two RBIs), Arkansas Tech (two hits, RBI), Washburn (double, homer, four RBIs), Henderson (double, triple, homer, three RBIs), Henderson (double, homer, five RBIs), Augustana (three hits, RBI) and Point Loma (two hits, double, RBI).

He was second in doubles and RBIs for all Canucks, behind Ricardo Sanchez in both. Nicoll played for the Langley Blaze and coach Jamie Bodaly.

Shortstop: Benji Sauve (Mascouche, Que.) Trinidad State Trojans.

Sauve was sizzling at shortstop hitting .408 with 18 doubles, two triples, eight homers and 53 RBIs. He was 12-for-12 stealing bases and had a 1.083 OPS. His most memorable games were facing Wayland Baptist JVs (two hits), Wayland Baptist (two hits, double, RBI), Wayland Baptist (two hits), Wayland Baptist (two hits, two RBIs), CSU Fort Collins (two hits), Fort Collins (three hits, including a double), Fort Collins (two hits, homer, three RBIs) and Otero (three hits). He also excelled against Adams State JVs (three hits, triple, two RBIs), Luna (two hits, double, RBI), Luna (three hits, double, two RBIs), Luna (double, homer, two RBIs), Northeastern (two hits with a double, RBI), Western Nebraska (three hits, double), Western Nebraska (two hits), Adams State (two hits, double, RBI), Southeast (two hits), Adams State (two hits), Adams (three hits, including a homer, five RBIs), Lamar (three hits, two homers, three RBIs), Lamar (two hits, double), Lamar (two hits, homer, five RBIs), Luna (three hits, double) and Luna (two hits, two RBIs). He also had success against Adams (four hits, two doubles, triple, four RBIs), Otero (two hits, RBI), Lamar (4-for-4 with a double, four RBIs), Western Nebraska (two hits), Otero (two hits, double, three RBIs), Southeast (two hits, RBI) and Southeast (two hits).

From the same city as former National League Cy Young award winner Éric Gagné, the former Los Angeles Dodgers closer, who belongs in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys, Sauve played for Royal de Repentigny in Ligue de junior élite du Québec and coach Mathieu Granger.

Outfielders: Tom Poole (Calgary, Alta.) Cloud County Thunderbirds, Logan Grant (Chestermere, Alta.) Bismark State Mystics and Ethan Hunt (Elginburg, Ont.) Oklahoma Panhandle State Aggies.

Former Langley Blaze and Absolute Baseball Academy grad Tom Poole (Calgary, Alta.)

Poole led all outfielders with a 1.379 OPS as he batted .366 with 12 doubles, five triples, 23 homers and 71 RBIs. He homered against Kansas Wesleyan JVs (solo homer), Marshalltown (homer, two RBIs), Highland (two homers, three RBIs), Johnson County (solo homer), Iowa Western (three-run homer), Pratt (solo homer), Dodge City (two-run homer), Butler (homer, four RBIs), Butler (solo homer) and Concordia-Nebraska JVs (three homers, seven RBIs). He also went deep against Garden City (homer, three RBIs), Hutchinson (two homers, three RBIs), Seward County (solo homer), Neosho County (two homers, six RBIs), Neosho (solo homer) and Barton (two-run homer).

Poole was second in homers among Canucks behind Old Dominion’s Matt Coutney and second in OPS behind Cumberland’s Nolan Machibroda. This spring’s home run total beat the former single-season school record of 20 – held by Rico Gholston in 1990 – which earned him Second Team Jayhawk Conference honours. He played for the Langley Blaze and coach Jamie Bodaly and before that worked with Phil Curtis and Neil Gidney at Absolute Baseball Academy.

Grant was another outfielder who carried a 1.300-plus OPS mark (1.379). He had 15 doubles, four triples, 10 homers and 73 RBIs while batting .462. His best games were facing the Carthage JVs (4-for-4, homer, five RBIs), Fraser Valley (two hits, triple, RBI), Lake Region State (two hits, RBI), Edgewood JVs (4-for-4, double, triple, two homers, seven RBIs), Concordia Wisconsin (two hits), Anoka-Ramsey (three hits, including a triple, RBI) and Minnesota Post Grad (two hits, RBI). He also excelled against Miles (two hits, two RBIs), Dakota-Bottineau (two hits, with a double, RBI), Dawson (three hits, two doubles), North Dakota State of Science (two hits, RBI), North Dakota State (3-for-3, two RBIs), North Dakota State (5-for-5, two doubles, two homers, nine RBIs), North Dakota State (double, homer, two RBIs), Dakota-Bottineau (two hits, four RBIs), Williston State (two hits, including a double, two RBIs), Dakota County Tech (3-for-3, double, four RBIs), Williston (4-for-7, homer, five RBIs) and Kirkwood (three hits, two RBIs.)

Grant, who gained Mon-Dak Athletic Conference First Team honours, played for Vauxhall and coach Les McTavish and Jim Kotkas and Joel Blake, as well as the Okotoks Dawgs and coaches Bretton Gouthro and Aaron Ethier. He garnered Canadian Baseball Network Second Team honours in 2021.

For Oklahoma Panhandle, Hunt batted .441 with 12 doubles, three triples, 13 homers and 58 RBIs. He didn’t have a 1.300 OPS (only a minute 1.284 ... that’s Kingston humor). Seriously there were some big diamond names in Kingston over the years ... like Lavallee (Ron, Gary, Leo), Senior (Bob, Wayne, Doug, Ricky), Cherry (Del, Dick and Don), Gilmour (Don, Bobby, David, Dougie), etc. Now the Hunt name is a big one in the former capital of Canada: pop Jim Hunt has his team entered into the Premier League of Ontario and his son Ethan carved out a spot to earn First Team honours and then turn pro with the Independent Quebec Capitales.

Hunt was named to the 2022 All-Sooner Athletic Conference Second Team as he finished leading the Aggie team in nearly every offensive category and placing his name in the record books. He tied the program record for batting average, and set new marks for single-season hits, on-base, slugging, home runs, RBIs and runs. He also holds the record for consecutive games reaching base. In conference play, he ranked top five in hits (third), triples (fourth), home runs (fourth), RBIs (fifth) and batting average (fourth). He played for the Kingston Ponies and coach Ross Graham, as well as the Toronto Mets and Rich Leitch.

DH: David McCabe (Oshawa, Ont.) Charlotte 49ers.

McCabe missed time with an injury but he was still a force when in the lineup, batting .386 with 13 doubles, 16 home runs, 52 RBIs and a 1.297 OPS this past season. He homered against South Florida (two hits, three RBIs), Gardner-Webb (three hits, including two homers, four RBIs), Old Dominion (solo homer), UNC Asheville (homer, two RBIs), Marshall (homer, five RBIs), Marshall (four hits, three homers, six RBIs), Marshall (two hits, two RBIs), Rice (two hits, two RBIs), Florida Atlantic (four hits, homer, three RBIs), Florida Atlantic (three hits, two homers, five RBIs) and Louisiana Tech (three hits, two homers, four RBIs). McCabe had a .341 batting average in his three seasons wearing the Green and White, amassing 118 hits, 96 RBIs and 30 home runs in 96 games. McCabe hit three of those home runs in one game against Marshall this year, tying the program record for most home runs in a single game by one player.

McCabe gained NCBWA All-America Third Team honours, as well as a First Team All-Conference USA selection and Second Team ABCA/Rawlings All-Atlantic Region pick. He also became the first hitter in Charlotte history to be recognized as an NCBWA Hitter of the Week. After playing for Team Ontario Astros and coach Jason Booth, as well at the Ontario Blue Jays and Mike Steed, McCabe was a Canadian Baseball Network First Teamer in 2021.

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Most first-place votes on our First Team: Matt Coutney, Old Dominion, 41, Brandon Nicoll, Southern Arkansas, 39, David McCabe, Charlotte, 37, Tom Poole, Cloud County, 32, Logan Grant, Bismarck State, 27, Matt Duffy, Canisius, 23, Ryan Leitch, Marshall, 23, Matt Wilkinson, Central Arizona, 22, Connor O’Halloran, Michigan, 21.

First team by province: Ontario 5, Alberta 3, British Columbia 2, New Brunswick, Quebec.

First team by graduating teams: Langley Blaze 3, Okotoks Dawgs 2, Toronto Mets 2, Vauxhall Jets 2, Absolute Baseball Academy, Great Lake Canadians, Ontario Blue Jays, Ontario Terriers, Royal de Repentigny, Spruce Grove White Sox, Team Ontario Astros.

First Second and Third teams by province: Ontario 11, British Columbia 10, Alberta 8, Quebec 6, New Brunswick 2, Saskatchewan 2, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia.

First, Second and Third teams by graduating teams: Okotoks Dawgs 8, Langey Blaze 3, Ontario Blue Jays 3, Academy Baseball Canada 2, FieldHouse Pirates 2, Ontario Terriers 2, Toronto Mets 2, Vauxhall Academy Jets 2, Abbotsford Cardinals, Absolute Baseball Academy, Alouettes de Charlesbourg, Great Lake Canadians, Kingston Ponies, LaFleche Dragons, London Badgers, Mid-Island Pirates, Moncton Metro Mudcats, North Shore Twins, Parksville Royals, Royal de Repentigny, Saskatoon Diamondbacks, Spruce Grove White Sox, Swift Current ‘57s, Team Ontario Astros, Victoria Eagles, Victoria Mariners.

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1B Matt Coutney (Edmonton, Alta.) had 78.8% of the votes, the closest race since 2015, when Connor Panas (Toronto Ont.) of Canisius Golden Griffins received 33 first-place ballots three more first than C Chris Robinson (Uxbridge, Ont.) of Morehead State. Coutney had two more first-place votes than 3B Brandon Nicoll (Coombs, BC) of the Southern Arkansas Muleriders.

Previous winners of Canadian Baseball Network Player of the Year (most first-place votes for the All-Canadian team):

2022 _ 1B Matt Coutney (Edmonton, Alta.) of the Old Dominion Monarchs, who had 41 of 52 first-place votes (78.8).

2021 _ INF Tyler Black (Stouffville, Ont.) of the Wright State Raiders, 56 of 56 first-place votes (100%).

2020 _ INF David Mendham (Dorchester, Ont.) of the Connors State Cowboys, 54 of 62 first-place votes (87.1%).

2019 _ LHP Ryan Johnson (Winnipeg, Man.) of Lubbock Christian Chaps, 54 of 59 first-place votes (91.5%).

2018 _ DH Edouard Julien (Quebec City, Que.) of the Auburn Tigers, 43 of 52 ballots (82.7%).

2017 _ OF Christopher Acosta-Tapia (Laval, Que.) of Oklahoma Wesleyan Eagles, 41 of 51 (80.3%) voters.

2016 _ LHP Guillaume Blanchette (St-Constant, Que.) of Lubbock Christian Chaparrals, 51 of 51 (100%) first-place votes.

2015 _ 3B Connor Panas (Toronto, Ont.) of the Canisius Golden Griffins, 33 of 45 ballots (73.3%).

2014 _ 2B-OF Craig-St. Louis (Gatineau, Que.) of the Seminole State Trojans, 50-for-59 (84.7%).

2013 _ LHP Ryan Kellogg (Whitby, Ont.) of the Arizona State Sun Devils, 50-for-65 (76.9%).

2012 _ 2B Maxx Tissenbaum (Toronto, Ont.) of the Stony Brook Seawolves, 40-for-58 (69%).

2011 _ OF Chase Larsson (Vancouver, BC), of the Cameron Aggies, 39 of 41 votes (95.1%).

2010 _ OF Marcus Knecht (North York, Ont.) of the Connors State Cowboys, 49 of 51 (96.1%).

2009 _ 3B Jesse Sawyer (Calgary, Alta.) of the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, 33 for 49 (67.3%).

2008 _ DH Mike Gosse (Pitt Meadows, BC) of the Oklahoma Sooners, 35 of 42 (83.3%).

2007 _ 1B Kevin Atkinson (Surrey, BC) of the New Mexico Jr. College Thunderbirds, 55 for 62 (88.7%).

2006 _ OF Jon Baksh (Mississauga, Ont.) of the Florida Tech Panthers, 40 of 63 (63.5%).

2005 _ 1B Karl Amonite (Woodslee, Ont.) of the Auburn Tigers, 55 for 62 (88.7%).

2004 _ OF Charlie MacFarlane (Lantzville, BC) of the Cumberland Bulldogs, 36 for 45 (80%).

2003 _ C Aaron McRae (Delta, BC) of the LSU-Shreveport Pilots, 37 for 49 (75.5%).

2002 (tie) _ OF Ryan Kenning (North Vancouver, BC) of the New Mexico State Aggies and RP-SS Jesse Crain (Toronto, Ont.) of the Houston Cougars, nine first-place votes of 18 ballots (50%) in 2002.

2001 _ LHP Jeff Francis (North Delta, BC) of the British Columbia Thunderbirds, six of seven (85.7%).

2000 _ OF Ben Emond (Farnham, Que.) of the Texas Longhorns our inaugural year.