A Saskatchewan born pitcher is still ecstatic months after being selected in the 2021 Major League Baseball draft. Garrett Hawkins, a native of Biggar, was selected in the ninth round (280th overall) by the San Diego Padres back in July. Hawkins recalled the moment he was drafted.

“Had It streaming on the TV just watching it as it kind of went down and kind of had an idea of when I might fit in, but nothing was final until I saw it come up on the tv. It was pretty cool going through that process and watching it unfold.” 

The 6-foot-5 230-pound Saskatchewan born pitcher has had to make adjustments for the better part of 2 years because of the pandemic. The UBC Thunderbirds, the school in which he pitched for, had their seasons altered due to restricted measures, forcing Hawkins to play ball south of the border. During the spring and summer months he played ball in New Jersey and Arizona to maintain his command and progress. Currently in Arizona, Hawkins noted what he is focused on throughout the winter months.

"Fine tuning my pitches and making it more consistent. I think I have a pretty good fastball right now, but my other two pitches could use some work, so I've been throwing those as much as I can throughout the offseason."

Hawkins also said he is continuing to improve throughout the offseason and looks forward to spring training in the new year. 

Throughout his young career Hawkins has been regarded as a workhorse, which hasn't gone unnoticed. He was named the Canadian Baseball Network Player of the Week, and during his time at UBC had 19 starts, posting an 8-6 record while striking out 115 batters over 109 innings pitched.