Alan Cattrysse is one of Chatham's finest all-round athletes, excelling in baseball, basketball and
volleyball as he won provincial championships in all three sports.
While Alan is considered one of the most outstanding athletes in John McGregor Panthers' history, he
enjoyed his biggest success on the baseball diamond.
Alan started as a 9-year-old in the Chatham Minor Baseball Association, earning MVP honours in 1993
and '95 at the Mosquito level. He was the team MVP and Fergie Jenkins Most Outstanding Player Award
winner for the entire CMBA in 1997, leading the Peewees to the OBA 'A' championship.
Alan played for the Tecumseh Thunder Bantams in 1999 and was a call-up to the Riverside Bantams who
won a silver medal at the Canadian Nationals.
Alan won a second OBA 'A' title in 2001 with the Tecumseh Midgets, earning MVP honours in the
championship game.
Alan played with Team Ontario for three summers from 2000-02 and was selected a tournament all-star in
their bronze-medal finish at the National Championships in 2002.
Alan also played with the Canadian National Junior Baseball Team from 2001-03.
After graduating from John McGregor in 2002, Alan became one of the first players from Chatham to
earn an NCAA Div. 1 baseball scholarship, as he played four seasons with the Michigan State Spartans.
As a freshman shortstop, Alan broke the MSU regular season record with 155 assists in 2003.
His yearly batting averages were .278, .309, .282 and .342. Alan finished his collegiate career second on
MSU's all-time hits list with 228.
While attending MSU, he spent his summers playing in the Connie Mack and Great Lakes Collegiate
Summer Leagues, where he was a league all-star every year. Playing in Cincinnati in 2003, Alan broke
Ken Griffey Jr.'s team record with 27 doubles, and he played on a championship team with Lima, Ohio, in
2004.
After graduating from MSU with a Bachelors Degree in Human Resources in 2006, Alan returned home
to play two seasons with the Chatham (Senior) Brewers before playing four seasons with the London
Majors in the Intercounty Baseball League.
Alan was the IBL All-Star game MVP in 2009 and first team All-Star in 2010 and 2012 while winning the
battling title with a .419 average in 2011. He won an IBL championship as a call-up by the Brantford Red
Sox in 2012.
Alan played every position except pitcher and catcher during his career as he was blessed with speed, a
strong arm and was an exceptional hitter.
As a McGregor Panther, Alan played on two OFSAA 'AA' basketball championship teams (1999-2000
and 2000-'01) and one on a volleyball championship team.
In his Grade 12 year, Alan was the MVP of a Panthers' squad that finished fourth in OFSAA '4A' . This
2001-02 team was inducted into the Chatham Sports Hall of Fame in 2017 as arguablely one of the best
high school basketball teams in local history.
Alan also won an OBA championship and he was selected as the MVP of the 2000 Chatham Wildcats Div.
2 team.
Alan continues to maintain an active sporting lifestyle.