The Brock Badgers had their best provincial championship finish since 2016 and were rewarded with one major award winner and two all-star selections.
Ontario University Athletics (OUA) revealed the baseball major award winners and all-star selections on Thursday, Oct. 24.
The award winners and all-stars were selected from the final four teams that made it to the OUA Baseball Championship which included the Badgers (bronze medallists), Queen's Gaels, Toronto Varsity Blues (gold medallists) and the Waterloo Warriors (silver medallists).
"We are happy for the players that were recognized as all-stars as this was an intense and well-played tournament," said Head Coach Marc Lepage. "Other than one inning, we are proud of the way we played, and overall, we are thrilled with how we represented Brock."
Jack Cohen impressed in his OUA debut, earning the OUA Rookie of the Year award and an OUA All-Star selection as a reliever.
"I'm personally proud of how Jack navigated his recovery from injury, which is no small feat," said Pitching Coach Fabio Del Rio. "Over the summer and throughout the OUA season, he built himself up and now stands to be in a position to be a key contributor to our 2025 team."
The Sport Management major from Newmarket, ON came into the OUA semifinal against the Waterloo Warriors and pitched two innings, giving up zero hits and striking out two of the seven batters he faced.
In the two innings, he threw 25 pitches and induced three ground outs and two fly outs as he kept the Warriors from scoring during the Badgers' comeback attempt.
Fourth-year outfielder Nolan Phelan received an all-star selection for his strong play at the plate and in the field.
"With patience at the plate, a strong approach, timely hitting and solid outfield defence, Nolan excelled on all fronts during the tournament," LePage said.
In eight at bats, the local St. Catharines product delivered three hits and one run batted in (RBI) while earning one walk for a .375 batting average and .444 on base percentage (OBP).
He also added one stolen base and had a sparkling 1.000 fielding percentage over the weekend.
The complete list of 2024 OUA baseball award winners and all-stars is as follows:
MAJOR AWARDS
Most Valuable Player - Owen Taylor, Toronto
Most Valuable Pitcher - Kevin Angers, Toronto
Most Valuable Hitter - Ryan Hsu, Toronto
Rookie of the Year - Jack Cohen, Brock
Coach of the Year - Andrew Needles, Toronto
ALL-STARS
C - Adam Rusch, Waterloo
1B - Carter Hercun, Toronto
2B - Ryan Hsu , Toronto
SS - Jakob Cellupica, Toronto
3B - Jonah Brotman, Queen's
3B - Spenser Ross, Toronto
OF - Owen Taylor, Toronto
OF - Sam Aslanowicz, Toronto
OF - Nolan Phelan, Brock
DH - Kirk Gibson, Toronto
SP - Kevin Angers, Toronto
RP - Jack Cohen, Brock
