From an Astro to a Ranger, Texas drafts Mitchell minor ball grad Evan Morrison

Дата публикации: 14-07-2026 20:21:12

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Evan Morrison experienced a lot of firsts on July 12 – but in his eyes, 297 holds just as much status as the number ones. 

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Morrison, 23, was the first player ever from Mitchell minor baseball to be chosen in the Major League Baseball draft, picked by the Texas Rangers in the 10th round, 297th overall. 

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He was also the first player out of the Ontario University Athletics program and the fledgling Canadian Baseball League to be chosen, too. 

“I’m thrilled to be picked by the Rangers,” he said a day after the draft, still riding an emotional high after he received word of his selection during the CBL all-star game in Chatham. “I’m so excited to get going.” 

The Chatham-Kent Barnstormers shortstop in the CBL, Morrison was coming off an All-American senior season at Division II Grand Valley State University in Michigan, just one stop of many during his baseball career that began in Mitchell. 

“I give credit to Mitchell, and it’ll always be my home,” Morrison said, even though his family lived in Wartburg before recently moving to Wheatley. 

Morrison, the son of James and Christen, actually started his ball career playing fastpitch softball in Sebringville. He played hockey in Mitchell, and when his buddies all took the baseball path, so did Morrison, although he said it was always going to be that way. 

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“Playing with my friends was the thing to do, and I enjoyed every minute of it,” he said. “That’s been the most rewarding thing in my path, hearing from so many people I’ve encountered along the way after I was picked.” 

Minor ball president Adam Wolfe, who coached Morrison at the 13U level, said the selection is a feather in the Astros’ organization’s cap. 

“He was always the kid that played hard the second he stepped foot on the field,” Wolfe said. “He was the one that I told the other kids, ‘Watch how Evan is doing it.’ He could basically play any position. 

“We’re happy to see all his success. No doubt he will have success in the minor leagues.”

After a few years in Mitchell, Morrison played in the Great Lakes Canadians organization from age 13 to 18, which he called “exceptional” and instrumental in his development. After graduating from Stratford District secondary school, he went to the University of Waterloo for three seasons, then a summer in Fort McMurray, Alta., followed by a stop at another Waterloo, this time in Iowa in the Northwoods League. One campaign at McPherson College in Kansas was next before his development improved tremendously at Grand Valley State. 

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“The best decision of my life was going to Grand Valley State,” he said. “The journey I’ve taken is crazy, actually.” 

“What he’s done throughout his two years here at Grand Valley has been nothing short of amazing,” Lakers head coach Jordan Keur said. “The numbers that he put up, that’s what was turning peoples’ heads. They’re like, ‘Who is this guy?’ ”

The five-foot-11, 200-pound Morrison was a five-tool player for the Lakers. He hit for average, hit for power and ran, fielded and threw well.

“That kid puts his head down and he works,” Keur said. “He works his butt off. He deserves every bit of what came his way. He improved in every dynamic possible.”

Morrison said he’d heard rumblings of some interested teams, one of them his favourite club, the Toronto Blue Jays, but when the Rangers called his name, all prior allegiances vanished. 

“I’ve always had a lot of confidence in myself, but that second summer in Iowa was huge for me,” he said, saying it was then that he realized accomplishing his dream was a possibility. “I was facing a lot of top-notch talent and still succeeding. I just kept working hard.” 

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An All-American at Grand Valley State in Michigan, a Division II in the NCAA, Evan Morrison whoops it up after a big hit this season. SUBMITTED

Morrison has slashed .333/.417/.433 with 25 runs and eight RBI in 22 games this season in the CBL. Morrison was the league’s 2025 Rookie of the Year and batting champion with a .422 average in the circuit, which was then known as the Intercounty Baseball League. 

Morrison rejoined the Barnstormers in late May after his award-filled senior year at Grand Valley State, where he graduated with a degree in sports management. 

He batted .402/.470/.582/1.052 with six home runs, six triples, 15 doubles, and 49 RBI in 58 starts at shortstop for the Lakers. 

Morrison was one of the hardest players to strike out in NCAA Division II with only seven Ks in 251 at bats, and he began the season with a 31-game hitting streak and reached base in 54 of 58 games. 

Morrison has primarily been a middle infielder the last few seasons, foregoing his time on the mound, where he had success as well. 

Morrison, the sixth Canadian drafted this year, flies to the Rangers’ spring training home in Surprise, Ariz., just outside of Phoenix, on July 19, where he will undergo a physical and sign his professional contract, complete with a $5,000 signing bonus. He’s been told he’ll stay in Arizona through the fall before continuing the sport he loves in 2027 somewhere in the Rangers’ organization. 

Another first may be in the offing for Morrison one day down the road – an MLB appearance. 

-with files from Mark Malone 

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