Education
Knecht attended Saint Michael"s College School in Toronto and played youth baseball with the North York Baseball Association in Toronto.
Knecht attended Saint Michael"s College School in Toronto and played youth baseball with the North York Baseball Association in Toronto.
Prior to beginning his professional career, he played college baseball at Oklahoma State University and Connors State College. Knecht has also competed for the Canadian national baseball team He represented the Province of Ontario in the Canadian Championships.
In the 23rd round (698th overall) of the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft, the Milwaukee Brewers selected Knecht, but he did not sign.
Knecht enrolled at Oklahoma State University–Stillwater to play college baseball for the Oklahoma State Cowboys baseball team in the Big 12 Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association"s (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Division I. He received only 12 at bats in 2009, which prompted him to transfer to Connors State College for 2010. Knecht was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the third round (113th overall) of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft, with a compensation pick the Blue Jays received for failing to sign Jake Barrett the previous year.
Knecht made his professional debut in 2010 with the Auburn Doubledays of the Class-A Short Season New York–Penn League. He was promoted to the Lansing Lugnuts of the Class-A Midwest League in 2011.
Knecht was voted the Canadian Baseball Network player of the year in 2010.
Prior to the 2011 season, Baseball America named Knecht the top power hitter in the Blue Jays" organization. Knecht played for the Dunedin Blue Jays in the Class-A Advanced Florida State League in 2012. After remaining with Dunedin in both 2013 and 2014, he was released on March 31, 2015.
The Minnesota Twins signed Knecht to a minor-league contract on April 3, 2015.
Knecht has played for the Canadian national baseball team He played in the 2008 World Junior Baseball Championship, being named to the tournament All-Star team
