November 27, 2023

By Tyson Shushkewich

Canadian Baseball Network

The University of British Columbia is the only school in Canada playing NAIA competition.

And as the saying goes “they play well.”

The Thunderbirds have made the NAIA National championship opening rounds the past four seasons (2018, 2019, 2022, 2023), making the final in 2022 before losing to Lewis-Clark State. Due to COVID, there was not a tournament in 2020 and border restrictions made it difficult to visit their Cascade Collegiate Conference opponents.

Historically, the Thunderbirds have advanced to the opening round tournament 10 times and nine Region One championships (before regions were removed). They joined the Cascade Conference in 2009 and were considered independent within Region One prior to joining the conference.

“The aspect of competing across the border and representing Canadian baseball and winning in the USA is something that our team takes a lot of pride in,” Pritchett told the Canadian Baseball Network. “We want to do well and for the players to feel like they can stay in Canada, get an amazing education and still play high-level baseball and get a shot at pro baseball.

“We explain to recruits that it is an equal commitment to help the team succeed and win games but also the other side of the coin to help players reach their dreams of playing pro ball while getting an education at UBC.”

In total, 24 players from the Thunderbirds program have been drafted with 21 playing pro ball in some capacity. With former major leaguer Pritchett at the helm since July of 2015, six UBC players have been drafted and three more signed free-agent contracts.

Since Pritchett took over, the Thunderbirds have reached the NAIA World Series opening round tournament five times over the past six seasons. His team won the Cascade this spring over Oregon Tech Hustlin’ Owls by a score of 11-7 and finished second in the 2022 tournament.

In the final Jonny McGill (Richmond, BC) had four hits, including a home run and two doubles while Aaron Marsh (Nanaimo, BC), Noah Or (Richmond, BC) and Trent Lenihan (White Rock, BC) also went deep. Lenihan hit a three-run blast in the sixth inning for a 9-5 lead. Ryan Beitel (Surrey, BC) earned the win, pitching six innings, striking out seven, while Vicarte Domingo (Vancouver, BC) recorded the final outs.

“I have always been drawn to the college scene and valued my time at UCLA earlier in my career,” said Pritchett, a second round pick by the California Angels in 1991. “I was a scout (Boston Red Sox) at the time when this job was presented to me and I could not have thought of a better fit for myself and my family.”

The best showing the UBC program has put forward was in the 2006 season, where the Thunderbirds advanced to the NAIA College World Series and finished fourth, losing to Lewis-Clark State, the eventual winners. During that World Series tournament, UBC did post the most runs in a single game, beating Lubbock-Christian University 23-5 in the upper round portion.

The most notable alumni is LHP Jeff Francis (North Delta, BC/resides in London, Ont.), who was a first-round pick of the Colorado Rockies in 2002 (the only first-rounder in UBC history). Making his big league debut in 2004, Francis spent 11 seasons in the majors, making 254 appearances (217 starts) and finishing with a 4.97 ERA through 1,291 innings. He ranks eighth amongst Canadian-born players in innings pitched and 10th in strikeouts (869) and represented Canada at the 2006 World Baseball Classic and at the 2015 Pan American Games (winning gold). Francis pitched for Hall of Fame coach Terry McKaig (Vernon, BC).

For his efforts in the big leagues, Francis was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys as part of the 2022 induction class.

Over 15 different organizations have drafted a UBC player while the San Diego Padres, Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, Cincinnati Reds, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays and New York Mets have all drafted two players from the program. A few players have made it to the higher levels of the minors outside of Francis.

_ RHP Brooks McNiven (Terrace, BC), drafted by the Blue Jays as a high schooler and later by the Giants as a fourth-rounder at UBC, advanced to triple-A in the Giants organization over the course of his career. He spent most of his time at double-A late in his career but made the trek to triple-A Fresno in 2008 before hanging it up after the 2009 season. Internationally, McNiven has represented Canada at the 2007 Baseball World Cup, the 2008 Summer Olympics, and the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

_ RP Conor Lillis-White (Toronto, Ont.) advanced to triple-A as well with the Angels organization, making 26 relief appearances for the Salt Lake Bees with a 3.86 ERA with 52 strikeouts through 37 1/3 innings. He was traded to the Chicago Cubs organization at the end of the 2018 season and didn’t see game action in 2019 due to injury. During the 2020 COVID season, Lillis-White was released by the Cubs. Following his baseball career, he returned to UBC and worked to get his law degree.

_ INF Sammie Starr (Toronto, Ont.) had four at-bats at triple-A Norfolk as well. Starr played five seasons in the minors and now works as an assistant coach on the Thunderbirds squad under Pritchett.

_ OF Derran Watts (Mississauga, Ont.) played five seasons, peaking with the double-A Binghampton Mets.

_ LHP Mark Hardy (Campbell River, BC), pitched three seasons, reaching the double-A San Antonio Missons.

_ On an interesting note, RHP Alex Webb (Surrey, BC) is the only UBC player to be drafted twice while a member of the Thunderbirds. The right-hander was selected in the 36th round by the San Diego Padres in 2015 but returned to UBC. The next season, Webb increased his stock and was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the ninth round, where he later signed and turned pro.

“Any time a UBC player can continue their baseball career is amazing for both the player and program,” Pritchett said. “To hear their name called in the draft, especially since the new format has fewer rounds than what we have seen in the past, is such a momentous occasion for the program.”

Three players from UBC were under pro contracts in 2023: right-handers Curtis Taylor (Port Coquitlam, BC), Garrett Hawkins (Saskatoon, Sask.) and Adam Maier (Vancouver, BC).

Taylor, who was drafted in the fourth round by the Diamondbacks, is a free agent after splitting the 2023 season between the Cubs and the Minnesota Twins organizations, spending most of the year in double-A. Over his seven-year career, Taylor has also enjoyed stretches in the Diamondbacks, Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays, and Washington Nationals organizations. Earlier this year, Taylor was named to the Canadian World Baseball Classic roster and made two relief appearances, pitching 3 1/3 clean innings with two hits allowed and three strikeouts.

Hawkins, who was the second last drafted Thunderbird, was selected by the Padres in the ninth round in 2021. He split his time between class-A Lake Elsinore and class-A Fort Wayne and appeared in four games this past season for the TinCaps, pitching to a 3.60 ERA through 15 innings. Injuries limited him in 2023 and he also underwent Tommy John surgery in August, keeping him off the field until at least the end of the 2024 season.

Maier, the last T-Bird selected, pitched in five games for UBC in 2020 before being injured. He pitched at Oregon in 2022 and was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the seventh round of the draft.

The Thunderbirds will be looking to make another deep run this year and hopefully book another ticket to the opening round tournament, with the possibility of earning a chance to compete at the NAIA World Series slated to take place at Lewis-State Clark College in late May 2024.

Besides, UBC, the province is home to the University of Victoria Golden Tide located in Victoria, which plays in the Canadian College Conference, along with other BC schools: Okanagan College in Kelowna, Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, University of Fraser Valley in Abbotsford and Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo.

UBC sets the standard for the province and the country for those players wanting to stay at home.

“Our team went to Washington (state) and played some fall ball against some talented programs and quite a few pitchers and position players really stuck out and got some eyes on them for draft potential,” said Pritchett. “If we can continue to play well as a unit, I am sure that more scouts will come and see our eligible guys take the field and prove they deserve a chance to play pro ball.”