Elon's Kirby, UNCW's Jones Headline 22 CAA Players Selected In MLB Draft
Rob Washburn
RICHMOND, Va. (June 5, 2019) – The CAA finished with 22 players selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, which was the third-highest total in conference history and most in one year since 2008.
For the first time in 15 years, a pair of CAA players were selected in the first round of the draft.
Elon junior pitcher
George Kirby was chosen 20
th overall by the Seattle Mariners, while UNCW sophomore shortstop
Greg Jones was taken 22
nd by the Tampa Bay Rays.
The last time the CAA had multiple players chosen in the first round of the MLB Draft was 2004 when Old Dominion pitcher Justin Verlander was selected #2 overall by the Detroit Tigers, William & Mary pitcher Bill Bray went #13 to the Cincinnati Reds and VCU pitcher Justin Orenduff went #33 to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Kirby was honored as the CAA Pitcher of the Year following an impressive season on the mound. The right-hander posted an 8-2 record with a 2.75 ERA. He gave up only 73 hits in 88.1 innings and held opponents to a .221 batting average. Kirby was fourth in the CAA with 107 strikeouts, and most impressively, issued only six walks. He led the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio (17.83) and walks per nine innings (0.61). Kirby, who was the highest draft pick in Elon history, was a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award, which is given to the top amateur player in the nation.
Jones received CAA Player of the Year accolades and was recognized as the Most Outstanding Performer at the CAA Baseball Championship. He ranked second in the league with a .341 batting average and led the CAA in runs (70), triples (9), stolen bases (42), walks (55) and on base percentage (.491). Jones was fifth nationally in steals, 14
th in runs and 22
nd in on base percentage. Jones is the first infielder in CAA history to be chosen in the first round of the MLB Draft and the highest draft pick in UNCW history.
Four other CAA players were chosen in the first eight rounds. James Madison relief pitcher
Nick Robertson (5-1, 8 saves, 1.01 ERA) was taken in the 7
th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers. In the 8
th round, Charleston pitcher
Griffin McLarty (8-4, 1.87 ERA, 116 K’s) was selected by the Baltimore Orioles, Elon pitcher
Kyle Brnovich (7-3, 3.66 ERA, 110 K’s) was picked by the Los Angeles Angels and Phoenix pitcher
Ty Adcock 4-1, 9 saves, 2.32 ERA) went to the Seattle Mariners.
Sixteen players went on Day 3 of the draft - Charleston second baseman
Dupree Hart and pitcher
Nathan Ocker, Delaware pitcher
Brandon Walter, Elon shortstop
Cam Devanney, Hofstra first baseman
Parker Quinn and catcher
Vito Friscia, JMU pitchers
Shelton Perkins,
Dan Goggin and
Kevin Kelly, UNCW pitchers
Zarion Sharpe and
Justin Crump and third baseman
Cole Weiss, Northeastern pitchers
Sean Mellen and
Andrew Misiaszek and first baseman
Jake Farrell and William & Mary pitcher
Jamie Sara.
CAA PLAYERS SELECTED IN 2019 MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL DRAFT
| George Kirby, Elon |
P |
1st (20) |
Seattle Mariners |
| Greg Jones, UNCW |
SS |
1st (22) |
Tampa Bay Rays |
| Nick Robertson, James Madison |
P |
7th (221) |
Los Angeles Dodgers |
| Griffin McLarty, Charleston |
P |
8th (228) |
Baltimore Orioles |
| Kyle Brnovich, Elon |
P |
8th (241) |
Los Angeles Angels |
| Ty Adcock, Elon |
P |
8th (246) |
Seattle Mariners |
| Sean Mellen, Northeastern |
P |
14th (431) |
Los Angeles Dodgers |
| Cam Devanney, Elon |
SS |
15th (463) |
Milwaukee Brewers |
| Shelton Perkins, James Madison |
P |
16th (468) |
Baltimore Orioles |
| Dan Goggin, James Madison |
P |
17th (508) |
New York Mets |
| Zarion Sharpe, UNCW |
P |
19th (575) |
St. Louis Cardinals |
| Kevin Kelly, James Madison |
P |
19th (580) |
Cleveland Indians |
| Jamie Sara, William & Mary |
P |
25th (750) |
Philadelphia Phillies |
| Parker Quinn, Hofstra |
1B |
25th (753) |
Washington Nationals |
| Dupree Hart, Charleston |
2B |
26th (783) |
Washington Nationals |
| Brandon Walter, Delaware |
P |
26th (797) |
Boston Red Sox |
| Nathan Ocker, Charleston |
P |
29th (880) |
Cleveland Indians |
| Justin Crump, UNCW |
P |
30th (896) |
San Francisco Giants |
| Andrew Misiaszek, Northeastern |
P |
32nd (970) |
Cleveland Indians |
| Cole Weiss, UNCW |
3B |
37th (1106) |
San Francisco Giants |
| Jake Farrell, Northeastern |
1B |
39th (1185) |
New York Yankees |
| Vito Friscia, Hofstra |
C |
40th (1200) |
Philadelphia Phillies |