OTTAWA – A strong wave of Junior National Team (JNT) alumni highlighted Day Two of the 2025 MLB Draft, as eight former members of the program were selected between rounds four and twenty.
Leading the way was Micah Bucknam of Abbotsford, BC, who went 112th overall in the fourth round to the Toronto Blue Jays. A hard-throwing right-hander out of Dallas Baptist University, Bucknam played with the Junior National Team program in 2021.
The Blue Jays stayed close to home with their fifth-round pick, selecting Tim Piasentin of Coquitlam, BC, 143rd overall. The corner infielder and Okotoks Dawgs product participated in three camps with the Junior National Team this spring including the recent MLB Draft League tour.
Shortstop Core Jackson, originally from Wyoming, Ontario, was selected by the New York Yankees at 164th overall out of the University of Utah while the Colorado Rockies turned to another JNT grad in the seventh round, taking Antoine Jean of Montréal, Québec. A left-hander now with Houston, Jean represented Canada at the 2019 WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup in Gijang, Korea.
In the tenth round, the Cincinnati Reds selected Ty Doucette, a powerful first baseman from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, who plays collegiately at Rutgers University. Doucette spent 2021 and 2022 with the Junior National Team including participation in the WBSC Americas U-18 World Cup Qualifier in Mexico.
The Reds added another JNT product in the twelfth round, grabbing Carson Latimer, a right-hander from Delta, BC, out of Sacramento State. Latimer played for Canada in the 2022 WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup in Florida.
Rounding out the JNT picks was Ryan Heppner, a right-handed pitcher from Delta, BC selected 577th overall in the nineteenth round by the Atlanta Braves. A University of British Columbia arm, Heppner had a stint with the Junior National Team in 2022.
With the final pick of the draft, left-handed pitcher Shane Brinham was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 20thround. The North Vancouver, BC native participated in three Junior National Team camps this spring.
|
Player |
Hometown / Ties |
Position |
School / Program |
Round / Overall |
Team |
|
Tyler Bremner |
San Diego, CA (Canadian citizen) |
RHP |
UC Santa Barbara |
1st / 2nd |
Los Angeles Angels |
|
Slater de Brun |
Summit, OR (Canadian citizen) |
OF |
Summit High School (OR) |
CBA / 37th |
Baltimore Orioles |
|
Charles Davalan |
St-Bruno-de-Montarville, QC |
OF |
University of Arkansas |
CBA / 41st |
Los Angeles Dodgers |
|
Cam Leiter |
Bayville, NJ (10 years in BC; played for Langley Blaze) |
RHP |
Florida State University |
2nd / 65th |
Los Angeles Dodgers |
|
Will Hynes |
Mississauga, ON |
RHP |
JNT/Ontario Blue Jays |
CBB / 70th |
Cleveland Guardians
|
| Micah Bucknam | Abbotsford, BC | RHP | Dallas Baptist/JNT alum | 4th/112th | Toronto Blue Jays |
| Tim Piasentin | Coquitlam, BC | 3B | JNT/Okotoks Dawgs | 5th/143rd | Toronto Blue Jays |
| Riley Nelson | Toronto, ON | 1B | Vanderbilt | 5th/162nd | Cleveland Guardians |
| Core Jackson | Wyoming, ON | SS | Utah/JNT alum | 5th/164th | New York Yankees |
| Antoine Jean | Montréal, QC | LHP | Houston/JNT alum | 7th/197th | Colorado Rockies |
| Blake Gillespie | Arva, ON | RHP | Charlotte | 9th/284th | New York Yankees |
| Ty Doucette | Dartmouth, NS | 1B | Rutgers/JNT alum | 10th/294th | Cincinnati Reds |
| Carson Latimer | Delta, BC | RHP | Sacramento State/JNT alum | 12th/354th | Cincinnati Reds |
| Tyson Moran | Wingham, ON | SS | Great Lake Canadians | 13th/398th | Kansas City Royals |
| Connor Hamilton | Georgetown, ON | RHP | Montgomery Bell Academy (TN) | 13th/413th | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| Tyrelle Chadwick | Kamloops, BC | RHP | Illinois State | 18th/527th | Colorado Rockies |
|
Hayden Cuthberson |
Ladner, BC | LHP | Miami (OH) | 18th/528th | Miami Marlins |
| Ryan Heppner | Delta, BC | RHP | UBC/JNT alum | 19th/577th | Atlanta Braves |
| Shane Brinham | North Vancouver, BC | LHP | JNT/North Shore Twins | 20th/615th | Los Angeles Dodgers |
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