Top baseball draft prospect Elijha Hammill signs with University of Utah
December 11, 2020
At age two, Elijha Hammill’s dad took him to his first Toronto Blue Jays game at Skydome.
“I didn’t go with them, but Elijha took me to the basement as soon they returned home and started playing with the basketball which he called a soccer ball,” recounted his mother, Jamaican-born actress Cherise Brown. “When I showed him the baseball and asked him what it was, he knew exactly. He was a little chatter box at that time and talked excitedly about things that happened at the game.”
His parents took notice and helped prepare the second of four siblings to compete at a high level in the sport.
Last month, Hammill – who started playing the sport at age six – signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Utah on a baseball scholarship.
Elijha Hammill signed with the University of Utah (Photo contributed)
Several other American universities, including Alabama, Clemson, Florida International, Wichita State, Pepperdine and Kentucky, were in contention for his signature during the national signing period.
The Salt Lake City public research university, however, met his requirements.
“It came down to the big things and the little things,” said the infielder who has been a member of the Canadian junior team since 2019. “On the baseball side, the competition is great playing in the PAC-12 which is a Power Five conference. On the educational side, it has a business school that’s among the best in the country. The weather is also similar to here which is something I am familiar with and can deal with.”
Hammill, who intends to pursue Business Management Studies, was unable to visit the university because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Just as I was preparing to go last March, everything started shutting down,” said the switch hitter who turned 17 on November 21. “From that point on, there has been a lot of communication with the school and I did a virtual tour which gave me an idea of what to expect once I get down there next year.”
Bill Kinneberg, who is entering his 18th season as head coach, said the University of Utah is excited to have Hammill in its baseball program.
“We feel he will be a very offensive middle infielder for us that can hit from both sides of the plate,” noted the former Chicago White Sox pitching coach and 2016 Pac-12 Coach of the Year. “He is more physical than most high school athletes and has so much upside to his game. We expect him to be an impact player for us in his first year.”
Elijha Hammill rounding third base against the Blue Jays earlier this year (Photo contributed)
The week before March break, Hammill went to Florida with the Canadian junior team. After a 22-6 loss to the Blue Jays in Dunedin, the teenager – who had two hits in three at bats -- got the news that schools were closing in the Greater Toronto Area.
His club, Terriers, was also in Florida during March break.
“The night before a scheduled game for the Terriers, we got an email saying we’re heading home,” recalled Hammill who joined the club in Grade Nine. “At around 4 a.m. in the morning, we packed our stuff and got on a bus for a solid 24-hour ride home. It was a long one, but we got back safely and without any problems crossing the border.”
Though restricted by the pandemic lockdown, he is still busy preparing for the Major League Baseball (MLB) draft in June 2021.
“I am super excited about my draft year and really looking forward to it,” Hammill said. “I am doing a lot of lifting to get bigger and stronger and speed work. This is the off-season, but once I am able to get outside, I will be in a position to execute what I am working on. Speed is a huge factor in my game as I relish stealing bases. At the plate, I am trying to be more patient in terms of pitch selection and putting a good swing on balls that are in my zone and getting on base to make things happen.”
In the winter, he is accessing the Terriers cold weather facility, The Baseball Zone, at 1081 Brevik Place in Mississauga.
“With COVID going on, there’s a limit to how many people can use the facility at one time,” Hammill said. “They have batting cages in there and a fielding area. I am able to go there if I need to.”
Elijha Hammill represented Canada at the 2019 Under-18 World Championship (Photo contributed)
His progression in the sport has been steady.
In Grade Six at River Oaks Public School, Hammill was the only Canadian among 24 finalists in the MLB pitch, hit and run skills competition that preceded the Gatorade All-Star Workout Day and the Gillette Home Run Derby in 2015 in Cincinnati.
Competing in four boys and girls divisions, starting from age seven to 14, the finalists were judged on a sprint from second to base to home plate, the distance they hit balls off a tee and the accuracy with which they struck zone targets from 45 feet away.
Hammill finished second in the 11-12 age category.
Though disappointed that his favourite player at the time, Jose Bautista, skipped the All-Star game because of a sore shoulder, he was excited by Josh Donaldson’s presence and the fact he made a catch off the third baseman while shagging balls in the home run derby.
The next year, he won the pitch, run and hit competition in San Diego.
Hammill was a key member of the national team that participated in the Under-18 World Championships in South Korea in 2019. Canada finished sixth in the 12-team tournament.
“To date, that has been the highlight of my baseball career,” he said. “I was able to see how other countries approach and play the sport. Korea and Japan bunt a lot and their execution is perfect. They get on base a lot doing that. I was able to learn more about bunting from watching them.”
In Canada’s 5-1 loss to Japan, Yasunobu Okugawa was almost unhittable, striking out 18 batters in 103 pitches over seven innings.
The Canadians managed just two hits in the contest.
“As a hitter, that’s an experience you can enjoy because you are constantly thinking about what he does to achieve such incredible results,” said Hammill who had eight hits in the tournament and finished with a .364 average and a .500 slugging percentage. “We couldn’t make adjustments and the guy just shut the door on us. It was a good learning experience, especially for a 15-year-old like me.”
Once an aspiring actor who was voted Best Actor at the 2015 Black Canadian Awards, he put that career on the backburner to focus on baseball.
“I shelved that in Grade Nine because that’s when baseball scouts really come after you,” said the 2018 Oklahoma Sunbelt tournament Most Valuable Player. “I had to focus on the sport if I wanted to get better.”
From driving Hammill to practices and games to ensuring that he puts in the work to get better make him very appreciative of his parents’ support.
“They are always encouraging me to do better because there’s always someone out there trying to take your spot,” the Grade 12 Holy Trinity Catholic Secondary School graduate who works part-time at McDonald’s pointed out. “With COVID, they said I have a lot more time and I should take advantage of it. I have weights in my room that I use to workout. In the summer, I utilized the diamond near my home. I called up a teammate who would throw batting practice so I could get my reps in. There’s a huge support for me, but the biggest part is my parents who are there for me 100 per cent.”
Elijha Hammill is all concentration at the plate (Photo contributed)
Shortstops Javier Baez (Chicago Cubs), Francisco Lindor (Cleveland Indians) and Tim Anderson (Chicago White Sox) are Hammill’s favourite players.
“Javier is always happy, he makes the game fun and he’s flashy while Francisco is much the same and ‘winning-driven’,” he added.
Last March, Rawlings-Perfect Game recognized Hammill as one of the top underclass baseball players at the high school level in Canada, the United States and Puerto Rico.
