Pascal: Roy putting up numbers for WSU Cougars, likely bound for Cape
Former Sudbury Voyagers SS Gavin Roy (Sudbury, Ont.) arrives at home plate after hitting a grand slam for the Washington State Cougars. Photo: Washington State Athletics
May 22, 2025
NCAA Division I stats are soaring for Sudbury baseball talent
A hometown listing of Sudbury Ont. will garner some attention on the back of the Gavin Roy baseball card.
These days, however, it’s the impressive numbers that are being posted by the local product that are causing watchers both north and south of the border to take notice.
Making his debut as an NCAA Division I junior with the Washington State Cougars, after spending two years with the Cloud County Community College Thunderbirds in Kansas, the 21-year-old slick-fielding middle infielder was expecting a stretch of acclimatization as he cleared another barrier.
Not that the process would be rendered any easier with the Cougars opening their schedule in February with a three-game set, on the road, against the Arkansas Razorbacks – only the top ranked team in the country as I pieced this story together in mid-April.
Through his first 11 games of the year, Roy registered seven hits – but with five of those coming in a two-game span, the Humanities Major (with a Sports Management Minor) was be held hitless in seven separate outings.
Gavin Roy (Sudbury, Ont.) has made a quick adjustment to NCAA D1 baseball with the Washington State Cougars. Photo: Washington State Athletics
From March 2 to March 25, however, he strung together a 13-game hitting streak before going 0-for-2 against Nevada and then reaching base safely again in the next eight straight games. Two days after we spoke, the product of the Sudbury Voyageurs system belted his third home run of the season, a grand slam no less against the New Mexico Lobos.
Roy has been the Washington State starting shortstop in each and every one of their 33 games to date. This is uncharted territory for talent from northern Ontario, though the always gracious graduate of St. Charles College (spending the bulk of his high school years at Ecole secondaire catholique L’Horizon) is seemingly handling it all very much in stride.
“Starting the year against Arkansas, facing top-end talent like that was cool to see – but it was an adjustment with pitch velocity and stuff like that,” said Roy. “The curveballs are a little better, the fastballs are a little harder.
“It was a matter of getting some at-bats under my belt and getting used to that.”
The young man who spent the past few summers in the States, honing his skills even further, was fairly confident his defensive game would play, even in the NCAA Division I ranks.
“In the field, it felt pretty natural all the way through,” said Roy. “For me, the biggest thing is being ready every pitch. My footwork is really good.
“I try and get my feet moving towards first as much as possible. That gets momentum going towards first and allows me to get better throws.”
Gavin Roy (Sudbury, Ont.) has been the everyday shortstop for the Washington State Cougars this season. Photo: Washington State Athletics
The multi-sport talent, who spent time with hockey and lacrosse as a young lad, adding volleyball and other sports to the mix in his teenage secondary school years, has always made the most of the opportunities he’s been given, his being a vastly different route to WSU than most of his American teammates.
“They do an outstanding job with the program we have in Sudbury,” said Roy, commending the work of Jean-Gilles Larocque and staff through the Baseball Academy and Voyageurs programs.
“We don’t have that many resources, but we use what we have to the best of our abilities,” said Roy. “You try and get better each day and try not to be super results oriented. Stick with the process, keep working hard and good things will come.”
There is little doubt that a starting gig in Pullman, Wash. is about as good as Roy could have ever imagined when he opted to devote two years to the junior college pathway at Cloud County, displaying some patience with the steps needed to get to where he ultimately wanted to go.
“I wouldn’t have done it any other way,” said Roy, looking back on two years in Concordia, Kan. “I’m really happy with how it went for me. I kind of needed to develop a little more at the JUCO level, both physically and mentally. I don’t think I was fully mature enough to be playing Division I yet.”
Gavin Roy (Sudbury, Ont.) played for the Western Canadian Baseball League’s Sylvan Lake Gulls in the summer of 2024. Photo: WCBL
The wheels are in motion for Roy to play in the Cape Cod League this summer, the premier summer collegiate circuit in North America. Last summer, he played short for the Sylvan Lake Gulls in the Western Canadian Baseball League.
The 5-foot-9, right-handed hitter who started the season in the No. 2 slot is now piling up the RBIs, hitting sixth. He is honestly trying to take it a day at a time – as cliché as that sounds.
“I’m really lucky to be doing this – and I am really grateful,” he said. “I’m trying to have as much fun with this as I can and try and be the best leader and teammate that I can be. Hopefully, I will get drafted, but if not, I’ll keep doing what I am doing and keep getting better every day.”