DBU Baseball's Dominic Hamel headlines the list of 10 MVC student-athletes selected in the 2021 Major League Draft (July 11-13) Hamel was taken in the 3rd Round and was the highest overall pick (96th) for the Missouri Valley Conference in this year's draft. DBU had the most MVC players taken, with five.
DOMINIC HAMEL, DBU (3rd Round)
Hamel was taken in the third round of the 2021 Major League Draft by the New York Mets on Monday. Hamel, a junior right-handed pitcher from Chandler, Arizona, was taken as the 96th overall pick in the MLB Draft, making him the seventh-highest draft selection in school history. Hamel was named an All-American by three publications in 2021 after posting 13-2 record on the mound and setting the program's single-season strikeout record with 136 strikeouts. Hamel's 13 wins also established a new single-season record in DBU Baseball's Division I era dating back to 2004. Hamel ranked among the nation's leaders in both strikeouts and wins during the 2021 season. His strikeout total ranked ninth-most in college baseball and his 13.35 strikeouts per nine innings was the 14th-highest average in the country this year. Hamel also ranked second in the nation in wins, just one behind Vanderbilt's Kumar Rockar, who the Mets also took earlier in the first round. During his two-year career as a Patriot, Hamel went 15-2 in 22 appearances (20 starts) with a 4.28 ERA and struck out 163 batters in 111.1 innings.
BROOKS GOSSWEIN, BRADLEY (4th Round)
For the first time in 28 years, the Bradley baseball team had two selections in the top 10 rounds of the Major League Baseball Draft. Left-handed pitcher Brooks Gosswein (Barrington, Ill.) was selected in the fourth round (124 overall) by the Chicago White Sox before right-handed pitcher Theron Denlinger (Cuba City, Wis.) followed his teammate to the White Sox in the seventh round (215 overall). Gosswein is Bradley's highest draft pick in 15 years as Brandon Magee was selected 120th overall in 2006 by the Toronto Blue Jays. Overall, it marks the first time since 1993 that Bradley has featured two selections in the first 10 rounds of the draft (Bryan Rekar and Joel Moore were selected in the second and third round, respectively, by the Rockies). A four-year standout with the Braves, Gosswein appeared in 49 games during his collegiate career, totaling 11 wins on the mound and striking out 139 batters in 167.1 innings. During the 2021 campaign, Gosswein led the Braves with 53 strikeouts, while ranking second on the team with 52.2 innings pitched and was just one off the team leader in wins with four.
Gosswein was named the Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week on March 1 after pitching seven innings of shutout ball and just two hits allowed against Ball State.
JACKSON GLENN, DBU (5th Round)
DBU Baseball's Jackson Glenn was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the fifth round of the 2021 Major League Draft on Monday. Glenn, a senior from Cedar Hill, Texas, was the Joe Carter Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year and was tabbed an All-American by five publications following his senior season after hitting a team-best .366 with 21 home runs, 19 doubles, and 55 RBI. Glenn, who returned as a fifth-year senior after last season was canceled due to COVID-19, became one of the top offensive players in college baseball in 2021. His 21 home runs were the fourth-most in the nation and ranks as the third-most in a single-season in DBU's Division I era dating back to 2004. He also compiled a .732 slugging percentage which ranks as the fifth-highest percentage in the program's Division I era and his 86 hits were the 10th-most in a single-season. Defensively, Glenn transitioned from third base to second base in his senior season and posted a career-best .960 fielding percentage in 2021. Glenn caps off his three-year career as a Patriot with a .317 batting average, 30 home runs, 40 doubles, and 118 RBI. He also stole 16 bases, including 13-for-13 in the stolen base department in 2021.
HAYDEN JUENGER, MISSOURI STATE (6th Round)
Missouri State junior pitcher Hayden Juenger was the Toronto Blue Jays' sixth-round selection Monday on the second day of the 2021 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, going off the board as the 182nd overall pick. The right-hander from O'Fallon, Ill., served as Missouri State's closer the past two seasons, picking up 10 saves, including six during his junior campaign in 2021. Juenger tossed 87 innings in 50 career appearances as a Bear, posting a 4.14 ERA and 98 strikeouts with a .249 opponent batting average. Juenger is the 19th Missouri State player drafted in the first 11 rounds of the draft since 2009. Overall, the Bears have produced 147 players who have gone on to sign professional contracts over their 58 years as a varsity program, including 128 during Keith Guttin's 39-year tenure as head coach.
TRISTAN PETERS, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (7th Round)
SIU sophomore outfielder Tristan Peters was drafted in the seventh round by the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday in the 2021 Major League Baseball draft. Peters is the highest-drafted SIU player since Sam Coonrod went in the fifth round in 2014. Peters was one of the best all-around players in the Missouri Valley Conference in 2021. He was an All-Midwest Region First Team honoree, an All-MVC Second Team selection, and a member of the MVC All-Defensive Team. He led the MVC in on-base percentage, walks and doubles in 2021, and he ranked third in the league in hits, third in RBIs, fourth in stolen bases, fifth in batting average, sixth in runs scored, sixth in total bases, and 12th in slugging. Peters, a Gold Glove outfielder in junior college, did not commit an error all season. He had nearly twice as many walks (46) as strikeouts (28). Peters is the 108th SIU player to be taken in the MLB Draft since 1966. Twenty-five Salukis have gone on to make the Major Leagues, most recently Sam Coonrod, who is a relief pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies.
THERON DENLINGER, BRADLEY (7th Round)
A two-time All-Missouri Valley Conference honoree, Denlinger appeared in 42 games as a reliever during his career. He ranks third in school history with 13 career saves, striking out 48 batters in 44 innings of work. During the 2021 campaign, Denlinger ranked second in the Missouri Valley Conference with six saves, while striking out 21 players in 17.2 innings. Gosswein and Denlinger are the two highest drafted players under head coach Elvis Dominguez during his 13 years on campus and the 14th and 15th players drafted under his watch overall.
RHETT KOUBA, DBU (12th Round)
DBU Baseball's Rhett Kouba had his named called as the Houston Astros' 12th round selection in the 2021 Major League Draft on Tuesday. A sophomore right-hander pitcher from El Reno, Oklahoma, Kouba was a First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection in 2021 after posting a 6-2 record with a 2.77 ERA in 16 appearances (10 starts). Kouba spent the first two months of the season as one of the key arms in the Patriots' bullpen before transitioning to the starting rotation in mid-April. Kouba eventually emerged as the team's No. 2 starter in the weekend rotation and his 1.77 ERA versus league opponents was tops in the Missouri Valley Conference. Kouba also ranked fourth in the MVC in strikeouts (87), a total that ranks as the 10th-most strikeouts in a single-season in DBU Baseball's Division I era dating back to 2004.
RIVER TOWN, DBU (15th Round)
DBU Baseball's River Town was selected in the 15th round of the Major League Draft by the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday. Town, a sophomore outfielder from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, garnered Second Team All-Missouri Valley Conference honors in his first season at DBU after hitting .326 with 10 home runs, 15 doubles, and 51 RBI. A transfer from LSU Eunice, Town was the Patriots' primary leadoff hitter in 2021. As the table-setter for a DBU offense that ranked 15th in the nation in runs per game (7.6), Town led the MVC with 20 stolen bases, a mark that ranks as the eighth-most stolen bases in a single-season in DBU's Division I era dating back to 2004. Town was also second on the team in runs (61) and third in on-base percentage (.436).
COLTON JOHNSON, ILLINOIS STATE (16th Round)
Illinois State baseball fifth-year senior Colton Johnson has been selected in the 16th round of the 2021 MLB Draft by the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday. Johnson was the 488th player selected in the draft and is the 70th player in Redbird history to be drafted. Johnson is the sixth player to be drafted in the Steve Holm era, joining 2019 draftees OF John Rave (Kansas Royals, 5th round, 139), LHP Brent Headrick (Minnesota Twins, 9th round, 269), LHP Matt Walker (Detroit Tigers, 13th round, 382), OF Joe Aeilts (Colorado Rockies, 14th round, 429), and RHP Jeff Lindgren (Miami Marlins, 24th round, 711).
ROSS CARVER, DBU (20th Round)
DBU Baseball's Ross Carver became the fifth player selected from DBU in the 2021 Major League Draft when he was picked by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 20th round on Tuesday. A junior right-handed pitcher from Benton, Arkansas, Carver made nine relief appearances for the Patriots in 2021 and went 1-1 with 12 strikeouts in 11.1 innings. A transfer from Crowder College where he was a First Team All-Region selection in 2019, Carver went 1-0 with a 2.35 ERA in his first year at DBU in 2020. Carver was also a 23rd round selection of the Texas Rangers in 2019 before arriving at DBU for his junior season. Carver becomes the fifth player from DBU to be selected in the 2021 MLB Draft joining Dominic Hamel (3rd round - New York Mets), Jackson Glenn (5th round - Pittsburgh Pirates), Rhett Kouba (12th round - Houston Astros), and River Town (15th round - Kansas City Royals). Caver also becomes the 63rd player selected in the MLB Draft during Dan Heefner's 14 seasons as the head baseball coach at DBU.