Like many other athletic Canadians entering high school, a young David Calabrese was faced with the decision of choosing between hockey and another sport.

As Calabrese first walked through the doors of St. Elizabeth Catholic High School in Vaughan, he was fresh off his first season with the Ontario Blue Jays, one of Canada’s top elite baseball programs.

He was also one summer removed from being a run shy of reaching back-to-back Little League Canadian Championship games, when his High Park Braves fell 2-1 to East Nepean in the semi-finals, also losing 4-1 in the previous championship game to South Vancouver.

Calabrese was one win shy of heading to Williamsport and the mecca of youth baseball worldwide, the Little League World Series.

Now, thanks in part to some of those heartbreaking moments with High Park on the national stage, some four years down the road Calabrese has obviously chosen baseball as proven by his number 7 ranking in Ontario’s Class of 2020.

“I picked baseball because I realized I had a shot of getting further with baseball than I did hockey. It was a tough choice to make, I loved playing hockey and playing both sports but it was something I had to do,” said the Maple, Ontario native.

But as he enters his second last summer of high school, Calabrese now faces another decision.

One that stems from the first big decision he made prior to his teenage years, a decision that proves his choice to pursue his talents in baseball, rather than Canada’s beloved sport of hockey, is slowly paying off.

Calabrese is currently our highest ranked 2020 player in the province who has yet to partner up with a school, with all six players ahead of him committed to D1 programs including the likes of Michigan, Connecticut and Missouri.

Our top uncommitted prospect in the Class of 2020, @DavidCala24 (#7) put on a great performance over the weekend, looking stronger and showing improvements from last year. Our top six 2020's are all headed to D1 schools, is Calabrese next? ? #BeSeen #BaseballOntario pic.twitter.com/ROGg4ernR7

— PBR Ontario (@PBR_Ontario) February 20, 2019

Calabrese enters a pivotal 2019 campaign for his baseball career, one that will go a long ways towards deciding where his post-secondary baseball career will take him. Over the years, he has turned to Prep Baseball Report to get more eyes on his various tools as he’s blossomed into one of the provinces top outfielders in his class.

“Over the years they’ve given me a lot of exposure, not even just me but other players too. They have a lot of connections that help us players get the exposure we need and ultimately help colleges and universities contact us or get extra looks at us,” added Calabrese, who attended last year's New Year Open, as well as the Future Games Trials.

Calabrese’s athletic abilities were on full display at the New Year Open as he was the only player in the 2020 Class or younger to run a sub-seven on his 60-yard dash (6.97) and had the third best velocity from the outfield in his class (82 mph).

He put on another solid performance at the Future Games Trials where he posted the best 40-time at the event but ultimately didn’t head to Indianapolis with the squad. PBR Ontario Scout, Ryan Friele, said “there is projectability for Calabrese across the board,” after watching him at the Trials.

Like so many other high school players looking towards playing collegiate baseball, Calabrese made it a priority this offseason to hit the weight room and add to his 5-foot-11, 165-pound frame. While he was looking at getting bigger and stronger, he was also looking to get faster on the base paths despite already showing the ability to fly around them.

“One of my goals is to utilize my speed to the best of my abilities in games and also to become a better hitter so I can put the ball in play more often and then again, use my speed to the best of my abilities in those situations,” said the 16-year-old.

Calabrese performed in his first T12 this past September, Canada’s premiere high school baseball tournament, for the Futures squad and will likely be back this year when college coaches and pro scouts alike assemble themselves in the Rogers Centre seats. He showed a solid approach at the plate all tournament despite posting no hits, going 0-for-2.

The toolsy outfielder made pitchers pay for putting him on though, as he was walked five times and came around to score three times, swiping two bases. He not only showed strength and accuracy from the outfield, but also the ability to make a big time play in a big time game.

David Calabrese of the @OntarioBlueJays keeps The Futures in front. #T12 pic.twitter.com/2Pgzb0U5ON

— PBR Ontario (@PBR_Ontario) September 16, 2018

As Calabrese prepares to head south with his Ontario Blue Jays teammates for a spring training trip, he’s just hoping that his work this offseason transitions into his game on the field, knowing that everything else away from the field will take care of itself.

“I want to utilize all the skills I’ve been working on this offseason and put them into my game the best I can, and hopefully that leads somewhere but I’m not trying to think about that.”