Wednesday, June 09, 2010

NEW YORK - The New York Mets selected Stetson's Jacob deGrom in the ninth round the first of ten A-Sun baseball stars picked on Tuesday's portion of the MLB First-Year Player Draft.

deGrom was drafted by the Mets as a pitcher after just one season on the mound. He began the 2010 season as Stetson's starting shortstop and closer. Although he was flawless early on in both of those positions, he was moved into the rotation to help the team and fill a void. He immediately became the Hatters' #1 starter.

deGrom finished the season with 17 appearances, 12 starts, 82.1 innings pitched and a 4-5 record. He led the team with a 4.48 ERA and was second in strike outs with 56 and saves with two. He showed excellent control walking just 16 batters.

FULL STETSON RELEASE

Kennesaw State saw three picked on Tueday, led by Ryan Rodebaugh, who went in the 15th round to the Texas Rangers.The righty was Kennesaw State's Friday night starter all season, finishing the season with a 4.67 earned run average over 79 innings and 13 starts.

Seven rounds later, Stubblefield was taken with the 664th overall pick by the San Diego Padres. For the departing senior, the selection was an acknowledgment that he made the right choice in coming back to play his senior year. In 2009, the senior was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 33rd round. The senior finished his career with over 200 hits, including 48 doubles.

FULL KENNESAW STATE RELEASE

One round after Rodebaugh, ETSU Junior Chas Byrne became the first Buccaneer to be drafted since C.J. Lee in 2007 as the Kansas City Royals drafted Byrne in the 16th round of the Major League Baseball draft on Tuesday.

Byrne is the second highest draft pick in the Tony Skole era with only Caleb Moore being drafted higher (4th round of 2005 draft). The Johnson City, Tenn. native is also the 11th player to be drafted since 2000 when Skole took over the program.

FULL ETSU RELEASE

Lipscomb right-handed pitcher Josh Smith was drafted in the 21st round by the Cincinnati Reds. Smith, a fifth-year senior from Margate, Fla., was named to the A-Sun All-Conference First Team as a starting pitcher. He went 8-4 with a 4.66 earned run average. Smith tossed four complete games including a string of three straight.

He ranked fourth nationally in the regular season for strikeouts with 124. He struck out more than 100 batters in each of the last two seasons. Smith set the Lipscomb NCAA-era record for strikeouts in a game with 15 against ETSU on Mar. 26. He tied the record a week later against Illinois State.

FULL LIPSCOMB RELEASE

Mercer 's Jacob Tanis was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 26th round of the Major League Baseball June first-year player draft. Tanis was the 800th player selected overall.

Tanis was among the A-Sun and NCAA Division I national leaders in several categories, including home runs (22), runs batted in (88), total bases (197) and slugging percentage (.735). Tanis was second on the MU squad with a .388 batting average, lacing 25 doubles and scoring 69 runs, as well.

FULL MERCER RELEASE

USC Upstate's Matt Branham made a little more history on Tuesday evening to officially end his time at USC Upstate. The Spartans' all-time strikeouts king was selected in the 27th round of the 2010 MLB draft by the San Diego Padres, becoming both the first player in school history to enter the Padres organization and the first player in school history to be drafted twice as a Spartan.

Branham, who was drafted in the 47th-round of the MLB draft by the Houston Astros in 2009, joins current USC Upstate softball coach Chris Hawkins as the only players in school history to be drafted twice, as Hawkins was selected in 1985's January draft while at Anderson Junior College before transferring to USC Upstate. Hawkins was selected in 1987 in the 15th round by the Houston Astros after wrapping up his two-year career at Upstate.

FULL USC UPSTATE RELEASE

Tuesday's A-Sun Drafted Players
Jacob deGrom, Stetson 9-272 (Mets)
Ryan Rodebaugh, Kennesaw State 15-466 (Rangers)
Chas Byrne, ETSU 16-479 (Royals)
Josh Smith, Lipscomb 21-637 (Reds)
Tyler Stubblefield, Kennesaw State 22-664 (Padres)
Matt Loosen, Jacksonville 23-700 (Cubs)
John Whitaker, Kennesaw State 25-755 (Athletics)
Jacob Tanis, Mercer 26-800 (Rockies)
Matt Branham, USC Upstate 27-814 (Padres)
Jamaal Hawkins, Jacksonville 28-855 (Twins)