Elliott: Leiter, Jackson, Doucette, Buckham, Gillespie make D1's top 250
Former Langley Blaze RHP Cam Leiter is the top Canuck rated by D1Baseball.com
February 15, 2025
By Bob Elliott
Canadian Baseball Network
Five Canadian college players -- three pitchers -- are ranked amongst the top 250 top prospects on DIBaseball.com for this July’s draft.
High school players used to dominate the draft when it came to Canadians, but in 2024 of the 17 Canuck drafted players and four free agents signed, 11 were college players, with seven earning six-figure bonuses of $100,000 or more.
The top player with a Canuck connection is RHP Cam Leiter, nephew of former Blue Jays LHP Al Leiter, whose mother is Canadian and played for the Langley Blaze before returning to Leiter Land, also known as New Jersey.
The five Canucks and where DI has them ranked:
34th RHP Cam Leiter, former Langley Blaze, Florida State Seminoles.
Leiter did not pitch in the first two Florida State games of the season. He had a procedure done after the 2024 season. Depending upon who you ask, it will not affect his draft status. Leiter said he lived in BC from grade 7 to grade 10 pitching for Blaze coach Jamie Bodaly in the BC Junior Premier League and Doug Mathieson on the Blaze’s annual trip to Arizona.
Leiter is No. 90 on MLB Network’s current Draft Top 100.
Former Great Lake Canadians SS Core Jackson (Wyoming, Ont.) of the Utah Utes.
154th SS Core Jackson (Wyoming, Ont.) Utah Utes.
Jackson earned a First Team berth on the 2024 Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian college team.
He hit .363 with 15 doubles, three triples, four homers and 41 RBIs with a .979 OPS in 52 games.
He was expected to be drafted a year ago and as a senior he should be drafted in July. He played for Chris Robinson, Jamie Romak and Adam Stern for the Great Lake Canadians. Jackson did not play in Utah’s first two wins over the Pepperdine Green Wave.
169th 1B Ty Doucette (Dartmouth, NS) Rutgers University Scarlet Knights.
Last spring, Doucette batted .321 for the Knights with 11 doubles, nine homers, 48 RBIs and a .944 in 44 games to earn Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian college team honourable mentions honors.
The former Okotoks Dawg was 2-for-13 with an RBI as Rutgers opened by taking a three-game series against Kennesaw State Owls.
Ty’s father Darren Doucette was a 25th rounder by the Cardinals in the 1992 draft from Ulster County Community College. He played three years of affiliated ball plus four years of independent ball.
Abbotsford Cardinals grad RHP Micah Buckham (Abbotsford, BC)
179th RHP Micah Buckham (Abbotsford, BC) Dallas Baptist Patriots.
Buckham is the only previously drafted player on the list -- selected in the 16th round in 2021 by the Toronto Blue Jays. He spent two seasons with the LSU Tigers. In 2024, he made eight relief appearances, fanning 10 batters in nine innings and in 2023, he struck out 14 batters in seven innings in eight relief appearances as the Tigers won the 2023 College World Series.
The past two summers, the former Abbotsford Cardinal pitched for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the Cape Cod League and the Trenton Thunder of the MLB Draft League in 2022. He also pitched for the Junior National Team.
Former Ontario Nationals RHP Blake Gillespie is with the Charlotte 49ers.
185th RHP Blake Gillespie (Lucan, Ont.) Charlotte 49ers.
The former Ontario National was with Georgia before transferring after two seasons. He struck out 12 hitters in 19 innings over 17 appearances in two seasons with Bulldogs. He had a 12.27 ERA in 7 1/3 innings in 2024 and as a freshman had a 14.66 ERA in 11 2/3 innings.
Gillespie took the loss in the 49ers second game of the season when he allowed three runs on six hits in five innings during a 3-1 loss to the Northeastern Huskies. Northeastern was leading 3-1 when he departed, after fanning five.