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PHOTO (L to R): Ethan Skuija, Tyler Duncan, Kobe Morris

The Canadian Baseball Network (CBN) announced its 2018 Canadian college Player of the Year and its 19th annual All-Canadian college team on Wednesday.

Edouard Julien (Quebec City, Que.) has been named CBN’s college Player of the Year. He received first-place votes on 43 of 52 ballots (82.7%) cast by a large panel of scouts, coaches, executives and writers. 

The Auburn Tigers star put together one of the best freshman campaigns in his school’s history. The Academy Baseball Canada and Junior National Team grad topped the Tigers with 17 home runs and 69 RBI – which broke a school freshman record set by Hall of Famer Frank Thomas in 1987. His 69 RBI also led the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and were the most by a freshman across the country. His 17 round-trippers were also tied for the second-most among freshmen nationally and were the most by an Auburn player since 2010.

The Canadian slugger also helped propel the Tigers to the third round of the SEC Tournament, their best showing since 2003. In the tournament, Julien scored two runs, belted a grand slam (his third grand slam of 2018) and drove in five. He also delivered the Tigers’ first walk-off hit in the tournament since 1999 when he singled in the bottom of the 11th inning in the opener against Kentucky to give his club a 4-3 win.

For his efforts, Julien was named to the SEC All-Tournament team and was also named a Freshman All-American by Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, D1 Baseball, NCBWA and Perfect Game/Rawlings. He was also named to the SEC All-Freshman Team and earned Second Team ABCA All-South Region honours.

Julien also claimed the designated hitter position on CBN’s All-Canadian First Team. He is one of two Quebec players on the squad. The First Team also boasts five Ontario players, two from B.C. and one player each from P.E.I. and Alberta.

The Canadian Baseball Network’s 19th annual All-Canadian First Team (as noted below) consists of five NCAA players, five NJCAA players and two NAIA players.

First Team

LHP - J.P. Stevenson (New Glasgow, PEI) Canisius.

RHP  - Indigo Diaz (Vancouver, BC) Iowa Western.

RP  - RJ Freure (Burlington, Ont.) Pitt.

Catcher - Kole Cottam (Knoxvillle, Tenn.) Kentucky.

First base - Ryan Rijo (Barrie, Ont.) New Mexico JC.

Second base - Elliott Curtis (Waterloo, Ont.) Columbia State.

Third base - Kobe Morris (Victoria, BC) Crowder.

Shortstop - Kobe Hyland (Spruce Grove, Alta.) Iowa Western.

Outfielders  - Austen Swift (Etobicoke, Ont.) William Jessup, Tristan Pompey (Mississauga, Ont.) Kentucky; John Lantigua (Quebec City, Que.) Oklahoma Wesleyan.

DH - * Edouard Julien (Quebec City, Que.) Auburn 

(* Denotes Player of the Year.) 

Second Team

LHP - David Gauthier (Mt. Saint Hilaire, Que.) Trinidad State.

RHP - Ethan Skuija (Victoria, BC) Ohlone.

RP  - Matt Lloyd (Okotoks, Alta.) Indiana.

Catcher - Marcel-Maxime Lacasse (Beaconsfield, Que.) Western Texas.

First base - Malik Williams (Toronto, Ont.) Johnson County.

Second base - Lucas Diluca (Lasalle, Ont.) Cuyahoga. 

Third base - Matt Coutney (Edmonton, Alta.) Colby. 

Shortstop - Conner Morro (Cheltenham, Ont.) Canisius. 

Outfielders - Ryan Humeniuk (Stonewall, Man.) Indian Hills; Nick Howie (Oakville, Ont.) Eastern Kentucky; Alex Bédard (Levis, Que.) Trinidad State.

DH - Erik Sabrowski (Edmonton, Alta.) Cloud County. 

Third Team

LHP - Erik Sabrowski (Edmonton, Alta.) Cloud County.

RHP - Nick Trogrlic-Iverson (Oakville, Ont.) Central Arizona.

RP - Tanner Dalton (Lethbridge, Alta.) Sacramento State.

Catcher - Anthony Quirion (Dixville, Que.) Clarendon.

First base - Kyle MacDonald (Mississauga, Ont.) Arkansas State.

Second base - Tommy Reyes-Cruz (Montreal, Que.) Clarendon.

Third base - Liam Wilson (Ayr, Ont.) Canisius.

Shortstop - Bryce Dimitroff (Hamilton, Ont.) East Central.          

Outfielders - Zac Wilson (New Lowell, Ont.) Davenport; Matt Turino (Toronto, Ont.) Jefferson, Tyler Duncan (Sooke, BC) Crowder. 

DH - Matt Lloyd (Okotoks, Alta.) Indiana.

A total of 52 voters from seven different provinces and 13 states voted for the Canadian Baseball Network’s annual college All-Canadian team which has been recognized since 2000. 

The Canadian Baseball Network is regarded as the premier source of information on Canadian college players. Kevin Wall and George Farelli are the site’s primary statisticians.

For more detailed information about each member of the Canadian Baseball Network’s 19th annual college All-Canadian team, visit https://www.canadianbaseballnetwork.com/

Details and photos of the three Victoria Eagles players and their stellar seasons are at https://www.canadianbaseballnetwork.com/canadian-baseball-network-articles/drp3vr2klwlu0olb63ilnpx6pgvyq3.