Brendan Lawson drove through the snow in Toronto, Canada. Not to a hockey rink. Not to a baseball field, either.
While the top prep prospects in Florida or California were out on grass and dirt, basking in the early-spring sunshine, Lawson and his fellow Canadian ballplayers trained inside. It was far too cold outside, and on many days, there was no sun. Perfect conditions for ice hockey. But Lawson wanted to play baseball, so he drove to an indoor baseball facility.
“It’s kind of brutal,” he said. “But it’s cool. There’s a ton of amazing facilities, and you kind of get used to it. I feel like it gives you a bit of grit.”
For Lawson, that grit — combined with innate talent for a game that is low in his home country’s sporting hierarchy — has led to massive early returns at the highest levels of amateur baseball.
Baseball America named the Brewster Whitecaps infielder a First-Team Freshman All-American this past spring after his inaugural season with the Florida Gators. Lawson started 60 of the Gators’ 61 games as a true freshman, getting reps at first, second and third base. He slashed .317/.417/.522/.939 with 10 homers and a team-leading 33 walks.
In 18 games for Brewster so far this summer, Lawson has a .328 batting average with a .963 OPS. He is tied for sixth in the league with four home runs, three of which came in his first eight games on the Cape. Lawson was selected to represent the East Division in the Cape League All-Star Game and participated in the Home Run Contest.
“He’s just an elite college hitter,” Whitecaps manager Jamie Shevchik said. “He’s gonna be a first-rounder. … He is that good. You don’t see guys like that.”
While Lawson could hear his name called early in the 2027 MLB Draft, baseball wasn’t his first sport. Like many kids growing up in Canada, he learned to skate not long after he learned to walk and started playing hockey. The high school he attended in Ontario had two hockey rinks but no baseball field.
Sometimes Lawson misses hockey. It’s still a part of him. He loves playing pickup with friends when he goes home in the winter.
“You bring your skates, your gloves — helmet optional, most guys don’t — and your stick,” Lawson said. “You just throw them in the middle, and then they get sorted. You sit in the benches, and that’s how you spend your night in the winter.”
Lawson played hockey all the way through his childhood until he drifted away from the sport when he was 14. He grew tired of going from the frigid cold outside to the cold ice of the rink. His focus shifted to baseball.
Lawson’s dad, Trevor, grew up playing baseball and went on to play college ball in Canada. Lawson was introduced to baseball when he was 7, playing catch and Wiffle ball in the backyard with his dad.
“My dad was more into baseball than he was into hockey,” Lawson said. “He really instilled that into me. I fell in love with it.”
Becoming a high-level baseball player in Canada is hard. With the harsh climate over the winter and into the spring, Lawson and his friends didn’t have the luxuries of long toss in a grass outfield or taking infield and going through batting practice on a full field.
Lawson said most Canadian players who want to be recruited by colleges in the U.S. don’t play high school baseball in Canada. Instead, they train inside with their travel teams during the typical high school season. Lawson and his Ontario Blue Jays teammates would finally get outside late in the spring to play a community circuit around the province.
After the high school season finished in the U.S., Lawson’s team would cross the border and journey south to play in travel tournaments.
“I’ve been traveling for baseball all over the place since I’ve been 15,” Lawson said. “We used to take a bus from Toronto, and we would drive 26 hours all the way down to Florida and play for weeks, bouncing from tournament to tournament. I’ve gotten used to sleeping in different beds all over the country.”
How do you make a 26-hour bus ride bearable? For Lawson, the answer is sleep and music, which he said is his second passion behind baseball. He plays the guitar and listens to a variety of genres and artists. Led Zeppelin, Mötley Crüe, The Doors, The Rolling Stones and The Beatles are some of his favorites. On his way to hit in Toronto, he used to drive past Drake’s house.
Lawson made the long trips worth it by playing well. He earned the opportunity to play for Canada's Junior National Team when in high school. For his final prep years, he moved away from home to play at P27 Academy in South Carolina. Perfect Game ranked him as the best player from Ontario and No. 57 overall in the class of 2024. The St. Louis Cardinals drafted Lawson in the 19th round of the 2024 MLB Draft. He decided his best next step was to play in college at Florida, honoring the commitment he made in September 2022.
“First impressions when he came into Florida, we knew that he was gonna be something big for us right away,” said Harwich Mariners right-hander Christian Rodriguez, a teammate of Lawson with the Gators. “Pressure never got to him.”
Rodriguez said Lawson is not a fun matchup for a pitcher. He can drive the ball to all fields from the left side and can also spoil good pitches to stay in at-bats.
“If he chases, you probably should record that one and keep it in the camera roll for a little while,” Rodriguez said. “It’s definitely not comfortable. He’s a competitor. And he’ll do whatever it takes to get on base."
After his standout freshman season in Gainesville — capped by a five-hit performance in the NCAA Tournament — Lawson returned home to Canada. Not for a break. He got right back in the gym to gain back the strength he lost during the season and prepare for the Cape.
Lawson said his experience traveling all over for baseball eased his transition to the Cape League. His approach this summer has been to stay within himself and not try to force power with the wood bats.
The power has come anyway. Or as Lawson said, by accident.
He made his Brewster debut on July 1. Fitting that it was also Canada Day. Lawson reached base in each of his first four plate appearances. In the top of the seventh inning, he launched a solo home run to right field.
“He’s doing Brendan things,” Rodriguez said. “No shock for any of us. Very proud of him.”
With long hair, goggles and an unconventional high-hands stance, Lawson has already made waves in the SEC and across the Cape. The Draft hype will likely build as he heads into the next two seasons at Florida before he is eligible in 2027. He plans to return to the Whitecaps next summer.
But Lawson is staying in the present, grinding day in and day out in the early work before games.
“He’s an unbelievable kid,” Shevchik said. “You can’t say anything bad about him. He’s the kid that everybody dreams about having.”
Lawson’s goal on the Cape isn’t centered on himself. It’s centered on his Brewster teammates as they race into the playoffs in a tight division. It’s centered on one word: win.
“Just keep winning,” Lawson said. “This team’s good. This team’s awesome. I think we could make a really good run. And just continue to enjoy ourselves and have fun.”
Brendan Lawson has come a long way. Far from his infancy skating after a hockey puck on the ice. Far from the cold winter days in Ontario spent inside a baseball training facility. From the Canadian snow to the beaches of the Cape.
His grit and game have brought him here. And on this path, they are bound to take him even further.
