THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION
| 2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,802 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,802 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Create Account
Sign in Create Account
Tournaments  | Story | 7/20/2019

Toronto to the Showdown

Jack Nelson
Photo: Evan Soules (Perfect Game)

ACWORTH, Ga. – Canadians are serious sports fans, and while your mind probably initially gravitates toward hockey, our neighbors to the north passionately root for all their pro teams. Last month, the world got a glimpse of that when the Raptors took the basketball universe by storm en route to an NBA Finals Championship. All sports are big, and that includes baseball, both on the professional stage with the Blue Jays and at the amateur level.

While many teams travel far and wide to compete in Perfect Game events, few come from outside the country. Well, the Toronto Mets have made the trip down from Ontario to compete in this week’s Perfect Game 17u Summer Showdown. The Mets are off to a 1-0 start, and were in middle of their second game Saturday morning before torrential rain postponed their matchup with the Ninth Inning Royals 17u Bartlewski.

“This is the first year we’ve had teams travel this far south,” said Mets Director of Player Personnel Honsing Leung. “We usually stay in the Midwest. We’re not one of those teams that makes long bus tours, so parents are getting here on their own. And most years our parents are very supportive. So for us, we try to strategically plan where the bigger tournaments are and then fill in around it with more games.”

The Toronto Mets have been around for about a decade, and in that time have developed into one of the premier baseball organizations in Canada. Their ultimate goal is to get the guys to the next level, whether that be college ball or the pros.

And they’ve had excellent success in doing that. They’ve sent 165 kids on to college baseball, and the list of schools they have developed a relationship with is quite impressive. Tristan Pompey and Zach Pop both went to Kentucky, and Daniel Carinci is currently at Alabama. They have also had 26 former players drafted, including 2017 second rounder, Landon Leach. Additionally, 42 have been selected to play for the Canadian Junior National Team.

The program produces legit talent, and they have proven they can compete with anyone. But Leung and coach Frank Maury admit running a travel program in Canada is a much different animal than in the U.S. There are many fundamental differences, perhaps the biggest one being the role of high school baseball in a player’s development.

“It’s essentially nonexistent,” said Maury. “There might be five high school teams in the entire province that are any good. I’m a high school teacher, and the school I work at doesn’t even have nine kids that play organized baseball.”

“I’d say 60 percent of our kids don’t even play high school baseball,” he said. “It’s just not worth their time. The competition is so low.”

While many times a college coach will check in with a player’s high school coach for information on the kids grades or his character, all of that contact is done with the travel coach in Canada. This kind of system makes the role that the Toronto Mets play all the more important.

“None of the contacts with colleges comes from high school,” Maury said. “It all comes from the elite programs.”

To compensate, organizations like the Mets will run a more expansive schedule during the school year.

“Travel baseball is year round for us,” said Leung. “We’re working out from September to November, and then we’re in the gym from late November until we can get outside in the spring. A lot of times that is not until the first or second week of May. The weather definitely shortens the playing season.”

“The weather situation is obviously tough,” Maury said. “We start outside in May, but if we get two weeks of rain that wipes out almost eight games.”

Aside from the elements, there are more unique challenges to playing baseball in Canada. Leung said that there is only one turf baseball field in the city of Toronto. Additionally, the academic calendar in Canada is different than the U.S. While American students may be off for the summer by the first week in June, Canadian kids don’t get their break until the end of the month. When you are trying to schedule which tournaments to attend, this presents another problem for Leung, Maury, and the rest of the Mets front office to overcome.

“It’s really tough just to get on fields for official practices,” Maury said. “That means our schedule is very game heavy. We don’t have our own fields, so the practice part is tricky, and we see that in some game situations like bunt defenses. We can’t simulate all that stuff indoors.”

“Another challenge is that our kids are still in school until the end of June,” Maury said. “So you have the U.S. schools finishing up earlier and tournaments get started right after. We travel through final exams, graduation ceremonies, and proms. All that madness is right in the middle of when we need to be down here.”

In the United States, you’ll often see kids as young as 9 or 10 playing upwards of 100 games for their travel team. Families are crisscrossing the country to play at tournaments. In Canada, it doesn’t work that way. The Mets don’t even have teams that young.

“Kids start out playing for their local cities, and once they get to 14u or 15u they start to come to these kinds of programs,” Maury said. “The Toronto Mets don’t exist at the 10u or 11u level. Kids start out playing locally, closer to their house. As they get older, they come to us.”

Both Leung and Maury said the opportunity to come down and play in tournaments like the Summer Showdown are invaluable for Canadian players. The duo especially noted the plethora of coaches present at the 16u WWBA National Championship. All it takes is for one kid to have a good day at the plate, or a standout performance on the mound. That’s enough to change the course of your baseball career, and in a sense, your life.

“You just don’t get this kind of exposure in Ontario,” Maury said.
Give us your feedback
Tournaments | Story | 1/9/2026

PG Leaderboard: Class of 2030
Jheremy Brown
Article Image
Complete PG Leaderboard Database PG Leaderboard: Class of 2026 | Class of 2027 | Class of 2028 | Class of 2029 Today we wrap up our reviews of the 2026 thru 2030 class where we looked back on some of the eye opening metrics we saw from around the country, both in a showcase and tournament setting. To those not inside the youth baseball world, some of the metrics below would seem truly unattainable from current 8th graders, from the pair of 90 mph heaters courtesy of Amani Tuiasosopo and Kingston George, to upper-80s velocity from all over the field and multiple players north of 90 mph on the exit velocity testing (with wood), this 2030 class is one that has a chance to be special as we continue to watch it unfold moving forward.  Top Fastball Velocity  Rk Player FB Event School Hometown 1 Amani Tuiasosopo 90 2025 WWBA 14U World Championship Renton...
Read More
College | Story | 1/14/2026

2026 College Preview Index

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
From Preseason All-Americans to a Top 25, make sure to check back daily as we will continue to pump out content as a staff. Every conference preview will include a Preseason All-Conference Team as well as Draft/Prospect lists for each of the next 3 years (2026, 2027, 2028) while also breaking down every team within each conference. Publish Date Content Wednesday January 7 Preseason All-Americans Thursday January 8 Preseason Top 25 Monday January 12 Top 100 Freshmen Tuesday January 13 Top 100 Sophomores Wednesday January 14 Top 100 Juniors Thursday January 15 Top 100 Seniors College Conference Previews Publish Date Conference Friday January 16 Atlantic Coast (ACC) Monday January 19 Southeastern (SEC) Tuesday January 20 Oregon State Preview Wednesday January 21 Big 10 Thursday January 22 Big 12 Friday January 23 American (AAC) Monday January 26 Atlantic Sun (ASUN)...
Read More
Softball | Softball Tournament | 1/14/2026

Perfect Game Softball Turf Wars

Ashley Mears
Article Image
2026 Perfect Game Softball Turf Wars January 9-11 Ashley Mears   The 2026 season kicked off in impressive fashion at the Fun City Dome in Burlington, Iowa, featuring a highly competitive field across both age groups. The 18U division was loaded with talent, including over 20 Division I and II commits and several high-upside prospects, leading to intense bracket play and multiple walk-off finishes. Iowa Nationals claimed the championship over a well-rounded Iowa Prospects Gold team. The 14U division brought together quality programs from Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois. The tournament championship was an exciting matchup where Southeast Iowa Swarm edged a tough Black Dragons squad. 18u Lauren Hagedorn (2026, Adel, IA) of Iowa Nationals and future Iowa State Cyclone earned weekend MVP honors after a strong two-way performance. In the circle, she consistently kept hitters off balance...
Read More
College | Rankings | 1/14/2026

Top 100 Collegiate Juniors

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
Top 100 Collegiate Freshmen | Top 100 Collegiate Sophomores As we look ahead to another season of college baseball and continue our week of class-by-class lists, we look at the Junior class and we’ve got our Top 100 Juniors in the 2026 college season. This list aligns with the PG Draft lists we compiled at the top, with Roch Cholowsky, Drew Burress, and AJ Gracia rounding out the top three. There’s a litany of storylines to follow this year, with players who have tons of draft upside or players looking to be impactful players among their respective programs. These are the players who we feel are in a position to make some serious noise during the 2026 season. Talent is present all across the board, with players who could make some serious statements this year. Looking all the way up and down the board, there are impact bats, players primed for a breakout, Friday...
Read More
College | Rankings | 1/13/2026

Top 100 Collegiate Sophomores

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
Top 100 Collegiate Freshmen As we creep toward opening day here in a month or so, the draft team has put together the Top 100 sophomores on campus this spring.  This list is chalk full of talent, with future draft prospects littered top to bottom. The headliner of this group is Derek Curiel, a draft eligible sophomore that took the SEC by storm last spring. The Perfect Game All-American posted a .990 OPS over the course of a full season and is projected to vault himself further up the board during his ‘26 campaign. An electric arm in Dax Whitney follows up Curiel, with Strosnider, Lawson and Franco rounding out the top five.  Keep tabs on the draft eligible sophomores in this group come the summer. The rest of the pack are eligible for next year’s draft and figure to feature at the top of many draft lists in ‘27.  Rk. Name Level Pos. B-T School Hometown...
Read More
Draft | Rankings | 1/12/2026

Top 100 Collegiate Freshmen

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
As we creep toward opening day here in a month or so, the draft team has put together the Top 100 freshmen on campus this spring.  Three high-end arms lead the way, starting with Jack Bauer. The Mississippi State left-hander reached triple digits as a prep and is sure to make an immediate impact this spring. UCLA right-hander Angel Cervantes was selected in the 2nd round of last year’s draft but held firm on his commitment and should be an impact arm for the Bruins. Following the arms, a collection of bats rounds out the Top 10. There is loads of upside to the group with the potential and they should draw considerable playing time as freshman.  As the list gets deeper, there are plenty of players that should pop up and make significant contributions both this year and years down the line. The class has both depth and talent, making for a very intriguing group of...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 1/8/2026

PG Leaderboard: Class of 2029

Jheremy Brown
Article Image
Complete PG Leaderboard Database PG Leaderboard: Class of 2026 | Class of 2027 | Class of 2028 These players below are just entering their freshmen year's of high school, a scary though as you scroll through the 11 categories and see some of the eye opening numbers from the fastballs to the infield and outfield velocities, down to the Diamond Kinetic testing and their three sub-categories.  Top Fastball Velocity Rk Player FB Event Commitment School Hometown 1 Brody McCorkle 92 2025 18U PG Mid-Atlantic Fall Elite Championship Uncommitted Ranney Forked River, NJ 1 Caleb Polk 92 2025 14U Perfect Game Select Festival Uncommitted IMG Academy Dallas, TX 1 Knox Myers 92 2025 PG WWBA Freshman World Championship Uncommitted East Bay Riverview, FL 2 Alex Bello 91 2025 16U PG Fall World Series Uncommitted Montverde Academy Orlando, FL 2 Alex Bello 91 2025 14U Perfect Game...
Read More
College | Story | 1/9/2026

LSU Reloads & Returns; Opens No. 1

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
“How do you get to success? You have to honor the process that you built to get to that success…The standard is how we operate, train, and get better each day.”” Process-oriented leadership is a popular coaching strategy here in the mid-2020s but no one exemplifies that more than LSU head coach Jay Johnson. He’s won the Tigers two national titles during his time in Baton Rouge and expectations won’t be any lower in 2026 as LSU is the No. 1 team in the country in Perfect Game’s Preseason Top 25.  Johnson is heading into his fifth season at the helm in Baton Rouge and it’s fair to say that he has already experienced enormous success. There have been two national titles in four years (2023, 2025), a Golden Spikes winner (Dylan Crews, 2023), a first overall MLB Draft pick (Paul Skenes, 2023), and five first-round MLB Draft picks during...
Read More
Press Release | Press Release | 1/7/2026

PG Announces Naming Rights in Chesterfield

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
    667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923  www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    PERFECT GAME AND FIRST COMMUNITY CREDIT UNION ANNOUNCE CHESTERFIELD ATHLETIC COMPLEX    Landmark Partnership to Center on Community, Inclusion and Youth Sports    Chesterfield, Missouri (Wednesday, January 7, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, along with the City of Chesterfield, today announced  an exclusive naming rights partnership with First Community Credit Union (FCCU) for the Chesterfield Valley Athletic Complex. Effective immediately, the venue will be known as the “Chesterfield First Community Athletic...
Read More
College | Rankings | 1/8/2026

2026 Preseason Top 25

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
With an interesting and action-packed fall behind us, a new college season is just around the corner. The college game continues to prove it is alive and well as the Division 1 team count has now ballooned to 308 teams for the 2026 season. With new legislation allowing teams 5-weeks to prepare for opening day, many student athletes have returned to campus and will begin skill related workouts soon. Opening Day, as usual, will fall on Valentine’s Day weekend and it is just six weeks away. After a fall of evaluation and months of research and discussion, we are ready to release our annual Perfect Game pre-season Top 25 poll. After winning 53-games, hosting the NCAA Regional and Super Region, and sweeping their way through the College World, the LSU Tigers will debut the 2026 season as our No.1 ranked team. Head coach, Jay Johnson, has now led the Tigers to two national titles in the...
Read More
Loading more articles...
About Perfect Game :: Contact us :: Terms of Use :: Privacy Policy :: Testimonials :: Job Opportunities
Copyright 1994-2026 by Perfect Game. All rights reserved. No portion of this information may be reprinted or reproduced without the written consent of Perfect Game.