In just a short four years, Peyton Andree has established herself as a rising star on the baseball diamond.
Andree, who was born in Cambridge and has lived between Brantford and St. George her whole life, didn’t initially discover baseball until she was around nine.
“My [future] stepmom brought me to her son’s baseball games…and I found myself getting really excited watching the games. His coach would let me stand on the bench and cheer for them. The next year, the team wanted me to sign with them but because of COVID, I didn’t get a chance to play. It wouldn’t be until around the spring of 2022, that I could finally play,” she said. “Before getting into baseball, I wasn’t really serious about sports, and tried for some teams during elementary school, but never made any of them…which is kind of funny looking back, because I’ve made all the teams I have tried out for since starting high school….I was into gymnastics for a long time, and tried soccer, hockey and dance…but when I got on the field and I actually started playing baseball, I really enjoyed it.”
The young athlete would go on to play her first season on a house-league team in Brantford. And before her second season, she sustained an injury that would lead to an opportunity.
“I had to have surgery on my left clavicle to put a plate and some pins in it since I broke it after getting injured practicing baseball. I missed part of my second season….but by the time I was able to get back, my coach suggested trying out for a select team, which was also out of Brantford. My coach knew that I couldn’t hit because of my shoulder because it was still healing…so, I showed up and I did some fielding, and then he let me run the bases [while] they had someone else hit for me. I would then get a call saying that the team would love to have me, but couldn’t make the team because of my age,” Andree explained. “At that time, I was playing a year down…girls are able to play with girls in Brantford, or they can play a year down if they’re playing with boys, just because it is considered…a little bit unfair, and they do have a disadvantage. So, I did that, and then my house league coach reached out to coach Kevin [Keen]…saying this is a role I could play…I was put on that team, and eventually] me and a few of us and I moved on to play tier one and two baseball. I was the only player who moved on from that team right after that to go to tier one baseball for the U15 Brantford Red Sox team.”
However, Andree would find success on her next team, where they would finish with a solid record and win two tournaments along the way.
“I played on the U15 team again, but with what would have been the U14 new team the year before. So last season, it was a really successful one for the team….we were technically a tier two team, but we actually had a lot of really good baseball players. The tier one team moved up to replace my team that was recently folded, to play in the U16 year. Our team took their spot and played tier one. In the U15 team, we knew we were going to finish more in the middle of the pack. And we ended up finishing our season with a 34-15 record, which was pretty big for us, especially being a tier two team coming up to play tier one,” she said.
Despite some challenges during the season, the young star felt that she fit the team dynamic.
“That was the first year that I really felt connected with my teammates. And being the only girl on a team, it’s sometimes really hard to make friends…but, a lot of them didn’t really view me differently, and they made me feel I was part of the group,” Andree noted. “Also, playing with the guys forced me to push myself a little bit harder, because I’ve played on girls’ teams and I’m usually one of the stronger players. But when you’re with a group of guys who are six-foot and over 200 pounds (I’m only around five feet and 120 pounds), you have to play harder…and for me, it made me want to train more and be a better player.”
She has also had a chance to be coached by Kevin Keen when playing in Brantford, and would become a mentor to the young baseball player.
“My biggest role model and mentor is Kevin, my first baseball coach. He took a chance on me by putting me on the select team when he knew I was coming off of a pretty serious injury….he came to my family’s house and he gave me a new pair of cleats. They were red, and he explained that he thought that I had a really good chance at making the rep team, and he got them to match my team colors which really meant a lot,” Andree recounted. “It really showed me that I have someone that believes and supports me…and over the years, I’ve helped him as an assistant coach on some of his teams [including] a team last year, which was the U14 tier-two team that he coached. So, if I can have an impact on one kid the way that he’s impacted me, that would mean a lot.”
Another mentor has been Shawn Dixon, who has trained Andree and developed her skills.
“Shawn has been another great mentor…he’s really helped me get to the next level, and I’ve been training with him for a few years now. Without him…I don’t really know if I would enjoy baseball as much as I do. Right now, I work with him four times a week in a training program with some other kids. He’s played university baseball, and now helps other kids like me be better baseball players, and get them to that next level,” she said.
Nevertheless, during Andrees first year playing tier-one baseball in 2024, she was urged to try out for the ICBA team (Inter County Baseball Association) at the Ontario Summer Games.
“I ended up making the team where I got to play with other players from Brantford, Cambridge, Waterloo and a few other cities in the region. We placed 4th and we played our last game at Labatt Park, which is a very historical baseball park. I played mostly shortstop [and] pitched in our third game, and hit over .700,” she recalled. “It was a great experience and getting to represent my region at a provincial level was great…it also opened my eyes to how different it was playing with girls in comparison to boys’ teams. The girls accepted me right away whereas boys usually take a while to warm up to me and really let me in. Playing with them was one of my favourite experiences and the connections and friendships I made on the field are still with me today. In fact, I have stayed in touch with many of them.”
After a decision to leave Brantford-based baseball, Andree looked for other teams to play, eventually choosing the Ancaster Angels U15 team.
“We’re an overlooked team, and people aren’t expecting us to do fantastic, just because the team wasn’t very successful last year. We have a lot of new players, and I just want to be part of a team where I help them win games and get better. So, by working hard….I’m not doing it for myself [and] I’m not doing it to bat 1.000…I’m doing it because I want to make my team proud, and I want to represent them well,” she noted.
Along with her tremendous success on the baseball diamond, Andree, who currently attends Paris High School, has excelled at other sports while winning various accolades.
“I won the most improved player for my junior basketball team in 2025 [and] I won the junior girls volleyball MVP in 2025. In 2024, I got the junior volleyball coaches award. And I also have a few other awards recognizing other accomplishments in various sports. I helped my discus and shot-put team to COSSA…and for the 4×4 team, which I wasn’t even to be part of (I filled in for one of the team’s runners), our team ended up winning…I received a plaque from the team….thanking me for stepping in, which meant a lot to me,” she reflected.
However, after high school, Andree has her sights on going to a university in the United States, and with a chance to compete for the Waterloo Ghosts, a Tier-1 softball team, it has given herself a strong path to get there.
“I’m hoping to go to university in the United States, whether it’s just a Junior College (JUCO) or maybe a school that’s part of the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics), since I’m starting really late. Unfortunately, there’s not really a lot of opportunities for girls’ baseball in college…so, my softball career is starting to come in [and] this will be my first year playing softball with the Ghosts,” she said. “They have some girls on the team who are already committed to some universities, so they’ll help me out along with the coaches there too. And my goal is just to play at the next level and develop into a good player.”
