After a standout year on the links, Patrick Fogarty student and rising golf star Spencer Shropshire is among three finalists vying for Orillia’s highest athletic honour
The Orillia Sports Council has announced three finalists for the 2025 Orillia Athlete of the Year Award. OrilliaMatters will profile each of the finalists. Today, the spotlight is on Spencer Shropshire. Click here to read our profile on Autumn Prior. The winner of the coveted award will be announced on Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. at the Orillia Waterfront Centre.
Orillia golfer Spencer Shropshire had another stellar year on the links, marking the second consecutive year the 17-year-old Patrick Fogarty Catholic Secondary School student has been nominated as Orillia’s top athlete.
Shropshire played both rep lacrosse and rep hockey while growing up in Orillia, but it his “remarkable accomplishments” in golf that set him apart, said Jason Pritchard, who nominated Shropshire for the city’s top athletic prize.
His performance in 2025, after two years of elite level results, has established him as “one of the top young golfers” in Canada, says Pritchard.
His results speak for themselves. He finished second overall at the Ontario Junior Boys Spring Classic and was 14th overall at the Ontario men’s Amateur Championship where he competed against men up to age 55.
He finished second overall at the AJGA Coca Cola Junior championship in Michigan, won the Ontario Junior Boys Championship (U19), finished first while representing Team Ontario at the Williamson Cup and tied for 11th at the Canadian Junior championships in New Brunswick.
He also finished first overall at the Ontario Super Camp and was second overall at the Ontario high school championship tournament (OFSAA).
Pritchard said winning the Ontario junior title was a “defining” moment; no other golfer from Orillia has ever won that title, he noted.
“Capturing the Williamson Cup, representing Team Ontario, and lastly winning the Ontario Super Camp, further (solidifies) his status among the province’s best,” said Pritchard.
He also competed against Ontario’s top male golfers under the age of 55, as well as the nation’s best in the same category, finishing a highly respectable 14th provincially and 30th nationally — “remarkable results” for an athlete still in his teens, said Pritchard.
Shropshire has been selected as one of only ten athletes to represent NextGen Team Canada in international competition during the upcoming 2026 season. He has been named co-captain of the team, which is “an impressive recognition of both his ability and his character,” said Pritchard.
Shropshire recently earned a four-year golf scholarship to the University of Michigan, one of the most competitive Division One programs in the NCAA.
“Spencer’s growth as both an athlete and an individual is a testament to his hard work, discipline, and passion for sport,” said Pritchard. “He embodies the spirit of excellence, sportsmanship, and community pride that Orillia’s Athlete of the Year represents.”