Junior lefty Mark McCoy was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 29th round of the Major League Baseball Draft Wednesday. The transfer pitcher was the No. 879 pick overall.
Mark McCoy picked by the @Royals in the 29th round! #RBaseball https://t.co/0vDb1nXwOo
— Rutgers Baseball (@BaseballRU) June 10, 2015
McCoy has one year of collegiate eligibility remaining and has until the July 17 deadline to decide on turning professional or staying on campus. McCoy was previously drafted out of Barnegat High School in the 26th round of the 2012 draft by the Milwaukee Brewers.
McCoy earned a spot in the weekend rotation and made 12 starts on the season, including seven to begin a series. He finished second on the team with 63.0 innings pitched and 46 strikeouts (21 called). Displaying a good move to first, the lefty tied for second in the Big Ten with four pickoffs.
It is the second consecutive year the Scarlet Knights have had a player drafted, as Brian O'Grady was picked in the eighth round in 2014 by the Cincinnati Reds. McCoy is the fourth Scarlet Knight to be drafted by Kansas City.
New Jersey and the MLB Draft
As reported in a Keith Sargeant story, this was not a great year for New Jersey baseball talent, high school or college. "This is probably the worst year talent-wise in New Jersey in the two decades I've been scouting,'' a scout affiliated with a Major League club told NJ Advance Media recently. "I'd be surprised if anyone was picked from New Jersey on the first two days for the draft. That might be the first time ever.''
There were Jersey kids drafted, though none higher than the sixth round. The three highest NJ picks who played locally were Fordham's Brett Kennedy (Rd 11, #327) and two St. John's products, Cody Stashak (Rd 13, #380) and Matt Clancy (Rd 13, #395). Those two were among six Red Storm players drafted.
We're through 27-of-40 rounds and a record-tying six St. John's players have already been drafted. #SJUBase
— St. John's Baseball (@StJohnsBaseball) June 10, 2015
There were also three Garden State players drafted representing Wagner, NJIT, and Princeton. Another local squad, Ivy League champion Columbia, had three players drafted.
Big Ten and the MLB Draft
The boys of summer - or at least spring - from the north country did okay in the draft. From BTN:
Once again, that's 53 @B1Gbaseball players selected in 2015 @MLB First-Year Player Draft. pic.twitter.com/JjFeXUf8oh
— Brent Yarina (@BTNBrentYarina) June 10, 2015
Led by regular season conference champion Illinois (50-10-1) with nine players, the conference saw 11 of the 13 teams with drafted players. Only ttfp failed to have at least one player selected.
And by comparison....
The SEC had 67 players drafted, including seven in the first round of the MLB Draft. And that's not a surprising considering the climate.
Vanderbilt's Dansby Swanson was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks as the No. 1 pick in the 2015 MLB Draft. Swanson is the second Vanderbilt player all-time to be drafted No. 1, joining David Price (by Tampa Bay) from 2007.
Those first rounders represent five different schools and has had first round picks every year since 1991.