March 7, 2022

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

As we finish our look around the Junior College landscape, there are 22 Canadians listed on the rosters of the top rated teams.

Perfect Game has 10 Canucks rated among the top prospects in the respective regions. Leading the pack is RHP Evan O’Toole (Bridgewater, NS) of the Iowa Western Reivers who is ranked sixth among the Midwest’s top 100 prospects. O’Toole is headed to Oklahoma State this fall.

The other nine prospects are from the:

_ Ontario Terriers: SS Austin Gomm SS (Mississauga, Ont.) of Parkland; RHP Matt Brown (Oakville, Ont.) of Frontier and OF-LHP Andre Wojtarowicz (Oakville, Ont.) of Frontier.

_ Toronto Mets: RHP Drew Howard (Whitby, Ont.) of Chipola, LHP Keegan Pulford-Thorpe (Newmarket, Ont.) of Georgia Highlands and INF Brando Leroux (Markham Ont.) of Chipola.

_ Academy Baseball Canada: Cédric De Grandpré (St.-Simon-De-Bagot Que.) of Chipola,

_ Fraser Valley Cardinals: RHP Cooper Crompton (Abbotsford, BC) of Iowa Western,

_ FieldHouse Pirates OF James Dutton (Toronto, Ont.) of Indian Hills.

_ Ontario Blue Jays: 1B Aiden McAskie (Toronto, Ont.) from Chattanooga State.

JUCO Regional Preview: Midwest

Midwest Region: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin

Top 10 Team Breakdowns

1. Iowa Western

RHP Cooper Crompton (Langley, BC) and RHP Evan O’Toole (Bridgewater, NS).

On the mound ... O’Toole is 1-0 with a 7.94 ERA in 5 2/3 innings, while striking out eight ... Crompton has a 4.15 ERA in 4 1/3 innings with four walks and three strikeouts.

PG: The Reivers enter 2022 our top-ranked club in the nation, and for obviously very good reason. The top end is very strong, with the pitching staff led by the likes of returners Evan O’Toole, Ernie Day and Brant Hogue, with newcomers Tyler Chadwick, Daniel Wright, and Cooper Crompton all expected to be big pieces on the mound.

2. Wabash Valley

RHP Louis-Philippe Langevin (Quebec City, Que.),

4. Kellogg

RHP Ben Hubert (Komoka, Ont.),

Hubert has pitched seven innings with a 1.29 ERA, walking five and striking out five.

FieldHouse Pirates OF James Dutton (Toronto, Ont.)

5. Indian Hills

OF James Dutton (Toronto, Ont.).

Dutton is hitting .250 in two games.

PG: Two freshmen to keep an eye on, as both have track speed and could take over games on both sides of the ball, are James Dutton and Daniel Figueroa.

8. Parkland

SS Austin Gomm (Mississauga, Ont.), C Nicholas Fazzari (Thunder Bay, Ont.), C Tyler Herron (Grande Prairie, Alta.) and 3B Jaden Lamothe (Langley, BC).

Gomm is hitless in two games.

PG: The offense should be strong as well, with Austin Gomm starting at shortstop.

PG rankings by Brian Sakowski and Colton Olinger

Midwest Region Top 100 Prospects

Rank Name Position School Hometown State Commitment

1. Kaleb Applebey RHP Wabash Valley, Mt. Carmel, IL, LSU

6. Evan O’Toole RHP Iowa Western, Bridgewater, NS, Oklahoma State

20. Austin Gomm SS Parkland, Mississauga, Ont.

24. Cooper Crompton RHP Iowa Western, Abbotsford, BC

39. James Dutton OF Indian Hills, Toronto, Ont.

80. Matt Brown RHP Frontier, Oakville, Ont.

96. Andre Wojtarowicz OF-LHP Frontier, Oakville, Ont.

Perfect Game ings by Cade Schares and Michael Reuter

Midwest Region Top 10 Rankings

Rank School City State

1. Iowa Western, Council Bluffs, IA

2. Wabash Valley, Mount Camel, IL

3. John A. Logan, Carterville, IL

4. Kellogg, Battle Creek, MI

5. Indian Hills, Ottumwa, IA

6. Kirkwood, Cedar Rapids, IA

7. Lansing, Lansing, MI

8. Parkland, Champaign, IL

9. Madison, Madison, WI

10. Lincoln Land, Springfield, IL

Top 10 California Team Breakdowns

1. Orange Coast

INF Will Ireland (North Vancouver, BC)

After 18 games Ireland was hitting .222 with two RBIs and a .460 OPS.

Perfect Game ranings by Steve Fiorindo

1. Orange Coast

2. Riverside

3. Santa Rosa

4. Ohlone

5. Sacramento City

6. Saddleback

7. Glendale College

8. Mt. San Antonio College

9. Santa Ana College

10. El Camino College

Former Toronto Mets LHP Keegan Pulford-Thorpe (Newmarket, Ont.) is with Georgia Highlands.

JUCO Regional Preview: Southeast

Southeast Region Top 16 Teams

Rank Team City State/Province

3. Georgia Highlands, Rome, GA

LHP Keegan Pulford-Thorpe (Newmarket, Ont.) and RHP Ryan Wells (Caledon, Ont.).

On the mound ... Pulford-Thorpe has a 9.00 ERA in two innings as he has walked five and fanned a pair.

5. Chattanooga State, Chattanooga, TN

INF Aidan McAskie (Toronto, Ont.)

McAskie owned a .259 average after 13 games with two homers, seven RBIs and a .856 OPS.

16. Roane State, Harriman, TN

INF Gabriel Monterrey (Oakville, Ont.).

Monterrey is hitting .340 as a sophomore with two doubles, a triple, 10 RBIs and a .892 OPS in the first 19 games.

PG rankonings by Drew Wesolowski and Jason Phillips

Rank Team City State

1. Walters State, Morristown, TN

2. Dyersburg State, Dyersburg, TN

3. Georgia Highlands, Rome, GA

4. Andrew College, Cuthbert, GA

5. Chattanooga State, Chattanooga, TN

6. Gordon State, Barnesville, GA

7. Cleveland State, Cleveland, TN

8. Columbia State, Columbia, TN

9. East Georgia State, Swainsboro, GA

10. Jackson State, Jackson, TN

11. South Georgia State, Douglas, GA

12. Southwest Tennessee, Memphis, TN

13. Abraham Baldwin, Tifton, GA

14. Volunteer State, Gallatin, TN

15. Motlow State, Smyrna, TN

16. Roane State, Harriman, TN

Rank Name Position Hometown School Commitment

1. Colby Backus OF Walters State

11. Keegan Pulford-Thorpe, LHP Newmarket, Ont. Georgia Highlands

46. Aiden McAskie, 1B, Chattanooga State. Toronto, Ont.

Three Canucks were in the Mid-Atlantic region ...

JUCO Regional Preview: Mid-Atlantic

(New York, New Jersey, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware)

5. Monroe

RHP Hayden Wesseling (Guelph, Ont.).

7. Herkimer

OF Jordan Lewis (Toronto, Ont.)

12. Northampton

INF Alex Kok (Newmarket, Ont.) and RHP Tylar Patrick (Barrie, Ont.).

JUCO Regional Preview: Coastal | Deep South

Florida Region Top 15 Teams

Rank Team City State ’21 W-L

1. Chipola Marianna, FL 34-17

INF Brando Leroux (Markham, Ont.), RHP Cedric De Grandpre (St.-Simon-De-Bagot, Que.) and RHP Drew Howard (Whitby, Ont.).

Leroux is hitting .255 with six RBIs and a .576 OPS.

On the mound ... Grandpre is 5-0 with a 2.36 ERA striking out 33 in 26 2/3 innings ... Howard is 3-0 with a 2.84 ERA walking eight and fanning 26 in 19 innings.

PG: Chipola looks to return yet another roster this year with plenty of talent and upside on both sides of the ball. They will be led by two high-end arms in Cédric De Grandpré and Kenya Huggins. De Grandpré makes the transition to a starting role after posting a 1.69 ERA in a dominant year out of the bullpen. They will also depend on returner Drew Howard and Ben Fiedler for big innings in relief.

PG Ratings by Kyler Peterson

Florida Region Top 100 Prospects

Rank Player Name Posistion B-T School Hometown State Commitment

1. Cam Collier 3B L-R Chipola, Austell GA, Louisville

11. Drew Howard RHP R-R Chipola Whitby Ont. Troy

12. Cédric De Grandpré RHP R-R Chipola St.-Simon-De-Bagot Que.

96. Bando Leroux SS R-R Chipola Markham Ont.

Rank Team City State ’21 W-L

1. Chipola Marianna, FL 34-17

2. Northwest Florida State, Niceville, FL 32-17

3. Florida SouthWestern, Fort Myers, FL 44-16

4. State College of Florida. Bradenton. FL 34-21

5. College of Central Florida, Ocala. FL 37-15

6. Santa Fe, Gainesville, FL 33-13

7. Miami Dade, Miami, FL 36-19

8. Pensacola State, Pensacola, FL 28-20

9. Polk State, Winter Haven, FL 35-22

10. St. Johns River, Orange Park, FL, 28-22

11. Seminole State, Sanford FL 29-19

12. Palm Beach State, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 31-15

13. Indian River State, Fort Pierce, FL, 22-18-1

14. Gulf Coast State, Panama City, FL 24-24

15. St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, FL 22-25

Deep South Region: Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi

Rank Team Town State

1. LSU-Eunice, Eunuce, LA

RHP Jackson Fraser (Buena Vista, Sask.)

Fraser is 0-1 with a 5.06 ERA. He has walked six and struck out eight in 5 1/3 innings.

PG: At the backend of the bullpen, Brock Barthelemy and Jackson Fraser will be two guys they count on to get key outs late in games.

PG Ratings by Colton Olinger

Rank Team Town State

1. LSU-Eunice, Eunuce, LA

2. Pearl River, Poplarville, MS

3. Shelton State, Tuscaloosa, AL

4. Wallace-Dothan, Dothan, AL

5. Wallace-Hanceville, Hanceville, AL

6. Snead State, Boaz, AL

7. Delgado, New Orleans, LA

8. Itawamba, Fulton, MS

9. Chattahoochee Valley, Phenix City, AL

10. Meridian, Meridian, MS

Rank Nat. Rank Name Posotoon School Hometown State Commitment

1. 11. Colby Holcombe RHP Northeast Mississippi Florence AL Mississippi State

Mid-Atlantic Region Top 50 Prospects

Rank Player Name Position B-T School Hometown State Commitment

1. Greg Farone LHP L-L Herkimer Schenectady NY Louisville

Rankings by John Mcadams and Peter Harding, Perfect Game

Rand Team City State ‘21 W-L

1. RCSJ-Gloucester, Sewell, NJ 36-6-2

2. Mercer, West Windsor Twp, NJ 31-13

3. Lackawanna, Scranton, PA 29-13

4. Potomac State, Keyser, WV 35-8

5. Monroe College, New Rochelle, NY 33-7-1

6. Harford, Bel Air, MD 27-11-1

7. Herkimer, Herkimer, NY 32-4

8. Frederick CC, Frederick, MD 20-11

9. RCSJ-Cumberland, Vineland, NJ 21-6

10. Hagerstown, Robinwood, MD 40-12

11. Chesapeake, Wye Mills, MD 29-9

12. Northampton, Bethleham, PA 16-9

13. Brookdale, Middletown, NJ 15-9

14. Suffolk CC, Selden, NY 19-8-1

15. CCBC Catonsville, Catonsville, MD 20-17

There was one Canuck player in the Coastal region:

Coastal Region Top 50 Prospects

Rank Name Position School Hometown State Commitment

2. Patrick Henry

C-INF Brendon Daley (Milton, Ont.).

Rank Nat. Rank Name Posotoon School Hometown State Commitment

1. Nathan Williams RHP Florence-Darlington Acworth GA Mississippi State

Rankings by AJ Denny and Craig Cozart

Coastal Region: North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia

Coastal Region Top 10 Rankings

Rank School City State

1. Florence-Darlington Technical College, Florence, SC

2. Patrick & Henry Community College, Martinsville, VA

3. Louisburg College, Louisburg, NC

4. Brunswick Community College, Bolivia, NC

5. Gaston College, Dallas, NC

6. Catawba Valley Community College, Hickory, NC

7. Spartanburg Methodist, Spartanburg, SC

8. Cleveland Community College, Shelby, NC

9. University of South Carolina-Sumter, Sumter, SC

10. Caldwell Community College, Hudson, NC