OTTAWA – Baseball Canada is pleased to announce the names of 24 athletes selected to represent Canada at the WBSC Americas Pan Am Games Qualifier in Buenos Aires, Argentina from June 16-21.
The winner of the five-team tournament will earn a spot in the 2023 Pan Am Games baseball competition in Santiago, Chile from October 21-27.
In Buenos Aires, Canada will play a round-robin style format against Panama, host Argentina, Peru, and Honduras with the top two teams meeting in a winner-take-all final to determine a spot in Santiago 2023.
Canada will be led by long-time national team Manager Ernie Whitt who will be managing Canada for the 21st time in his career at the qualifier.
Fresh off managing Team Canada at the 2023 World Baseball Classic where he made history as the only person to manage in all five World Baseball Classics, Whitt has an all-time 74-42 record in international competition and has led Canada to gold medal victories at the 2011 and 2015 Pan Am Games, silver at the 2019 Pan Am Games and bronze at the 1999 Pan Am Games. He also managed Canada to a fourth-place finish at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.
Joining Whitt on the staff are Tim Leiper along with former national team pitchers Mike Johnson and Dustin Molleken, and Baseball Canada’s Director of Men’s National Teams Greg Hamilton.
Canada’s roster is primarily made up of current and former professional players who are not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) clubs.
The roster includes five players with MLB playing experience including LHP Andrew Albers, RHP Phillippe Aumont, RHP Scott Mathieson, OF Jacob Robson and RHP Jesen Therrien. Albers, Aumont, Mathieson and Robson along with RHP RJ Freure represented Canada earlier this year at the World Baseball Classic in Phoenix.
The roster also features ten Pan Am Games medalists in Albers (2 gold), Amount (1 gold, 1 silver), OF Michael Crouse (1 gold, 1 silver), INF Wes Darvill (silver), Freure (silver), LHP Ryan Kellogg (silver), RHP Will McAffer (silver), 1B Connor Panas (silver), OF Tristan Pompey (silver) and C Jordan Procyshen (silver).
Players named to the roster who’ve competed internationally as part of Baseball Canada’s National Teams program in the past include RHP Michael Brettell, INF Elijha Hammill, INF Matt Lloyd, RHP Brandon Marklund, C Josue Peley and LHP Travis Seabrooke while RHP Landen Bourassa, RHP Karl Gélinas, INF David Glaude, RHP Jake Polancic and OF Jacob Sanford will be representing Canada for the first time in international play.
Canada will hold a brief training camp from June 10-13 at the Toronto Blue Jays Player Development Complex in Dunedin, Florida before departing for Buenos Aires and opening play against Panama on June 16th.
Pitchers
Andrew Albers – North Battleford, SK
Phillippe Aumont – Gatineau, QC
Landon Bourassa – Lethbridge, AB
Michael Brettell – Fonthill, ON
RJ Freure – Burlington, ON
Karl Gélinas – Laval, QC
Ryan Kellogg – Whitby, ON
Brandon Marklund – North Vancouver, BC
Scott Mathieson - Aldergrove, BC
Will McAffer - North Vancouver, BC
Jake Polancic – Abbotsford, BC
Travis Seabrooke – Peterborough, ON
Jesen Therrien – Montréal, QC
Catchers
Josue Peley – Montréal, QC
Jordan Procyshen – Calgary, AB
Infielders
Wes Darvill - Richmond, BC
David Glaude – Québec City, QC
Elijha Hammill – Oakville, ON
Matt Lloyd – Okotoks, AB
Connor Panas – Etobicoke, ON
Outfielders
Michael Crouse – Port Moody, BC
Tristan Pompey – Mississauga, ON
Jacob Robson – Windsor, ON
Jacob Sanford – Dartmouth, NS
