The amateur baseball scene across Canada has kicked off in pre-season action and in-season action within the various leagues from coast to coast. With the sunshine and mild weather, players North of the border are springing into play. In addition, the Junior National Team (JNT) is getting its roster set to go down south for the second time this year.

The JNT will venture down to the Dominican Republic on May 13th as a part of a nine-day camp surrounded by Major League personnel and development programs. The squad will see 11 games against various MLB clubs from the Dominican Summer League, including the Astros, Blue Jays, Brewers, Mets, and more and is expected to be in the Dominican Republic from May 13 to the 21st.

This event is listed as one of many pertinent trips that the JNT will make, competing in a hotbed of baseball and putting Canadian players in the scouting light. Players will be tested by professional talent and introduced to a new pace of the game, especially for the newly selected members.

Three of the 28 players selected are fairly new to the program and were not involved with the program’s Extended Spring Training Camp in Florida last month. Not returning this time around are Daniel Dykema, Logan Forgie, and Keegan Russell.

The roster consists of 13 pitchers, two catchers, nine infielders, and four outfielders (both Adyn Schell and Austin Blair are two-way players) and will be coached by longtime Head Coach and Director of Men’s National Teams, Greg Hamilton, who will be joined by former big leaguers Pete Orr and Dustin Molleken as well as former pro Jesse Hodges as his assistant coaches.

Team Canada added three new players representing three different provinces. All of the newest players are pitchers.

Cole Dorland is a new addition to the JNT; he’s out of the Langley Blaze program in Langley, B.C. Dorland is a right-handed pitcher and a 2026 graduate. The 6’2” 155-pounder is raw and consistent off the mound. He works a three-pitch selection, including an early 80s changeup, late 80s fastball, and a mid-70s curveball that is his out-pitch.

Jerome Lucas is a left-handed pitcher out of Montreal, Que. The southpaw is a 2026 graduate who pitches for Academie de Baseball du Canada and is uncommitted. Lucas also has a three-pitch selection, with a changeup, curveball, and a live fastball sitting in the early-90s. His curveball sits mid-70s and can spin above 2,300 RPMs.

The third addition is another right-handed pitcher, Nick Halcovitch, from the Toronto Mets program. He’s 6’5” 230 lbs with an effective slider, and a live fastball working up to 92 mph.

Gino De Santis is the only player on the team born in 2009, but this is not his first first with the JNT.

25 players will be rejoining the Junior National Team from last month’s camp in Florida, and some potential draft names that will take the international stage once again.

Tim Piasentin, the highest-ranked player from the Canadian Baseball Network’s 2025 Draft List (#6), will be one name to keep an eye on. A veteran on the JNT, Piasentin won the Canadian Futures Showcase home derby last fall, and the last two derby winners (Myles Naylor and Nathan Flewelling) both heard their name called early in the draft in their respective years.

Wake Forest commit Will Hynes will return, as he’s in his last season before college; he’s the highest ranked pitcher on the squad from the CBN’s draft list (#7).

Other draft-eligible names include Philip Cheong (Stanford), Shane Brinham (University of Michigan), Jordan Jacob (Pittsburgh), Justin Rompre (Iowa Western CC), Esteban Dessureault (Stetson), Easton Kitura (University of Miami), Carson Quinn (University of Missouri), Felix Gosselin (Panola College), Finn Hoeschen (Indiana University), Walker Kokotailo (uncommitted), William Labonte (Portland), Mathis McKenna (Rutgers), Max Poirier (University of Miami), Adyn Schell (Missouri State University), and Nolan Weinmeyer (uncommited).

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