TAMPA ? University of South Florida head baseball coach Lelo Prado saw seven players selected in the 2009 MLB Draft, including four signees and three members of the 2009 squad.
"All of these guys are great kids and great ballplayers," said USF head coach Lelo Prado. "If they come to college they are going to be special players and they are going to be guys who can improve on their draft status. That's why we recruited them so hard ? because we knew they were going to be good players. We're happy for them and their families; It is a great day for all of them."
Signee Nick Lockwood was the first Bull selected in the 2009 MLB Draft, a ninth round pick on Wednesday afternoon. The 5-11 shortstop from Jesuit High School was drafted by the Minnesota Twins as the 282nd overall choice in the draft.
Four rounds later, junior RHP Shawn Sanford was picked up by the San Francisco Giants as the 338th overall draftee and 2009-10 signee Chad Taylor was selected by the Chicago Cubs as the 410th overall pick.
The New York Mets selected signee Chase Greene as the 494th overall pick, which placed him in the 16th round. USF senior catcher Trey Manz was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 26th round as the 779th overall selection.
On the final day, 2008 Freshman Player of the Year and Freshman All-American Ryan Lockwood was selected in the 39th round by Oakland, then three rounds later, Alonso High graduate and 2009-10 signee Rey Delphey was picked by San Diego as the 1,254 overall draftee.
Since Prado's first season at USF just three years ago, nine Bulls have been selected in the MLB Draft. The 2007 Draft saw Danny Otero (21st round), Yuri Higgins (38), Daniel Thomas (44) and Walter Diaz (48) all get their names on the draft board, but Thomas stayed at USF for the 2008 campaign. He was drafted in the 13th round in 2008, along with Addison Maruszak (17) and David Torcise (47).
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USF Baseball Players Selected in the 2009 MLB Draft |
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Player |
Pos. |
Team |
Round |
Pick |
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Nick Lockwood |
SS |
Minnesota Twins |
9th |
282 |
| Prado's thoughts on Lockwood when he signed with USF in December: “Lock is like his brother. He is going to be able to play the infield; second, shortstop and third. If I needed him to go in the outfield he could do that as well. He is a great player and can do a lot of things. He is a great guy to have in the lineup to hit-and-run, bunt and do things like that; things we like to do. He's getting bigger, stronger, and better since the first year we were here. Seeing him develop every year, I think his best days are ahead of him and he's going to be a special player here.” |
|
Shawn Sanford |
RHP |
San Francisco Giants |
13th |
388 |
| |
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Chad Taylor |
SS |
Chicago Cubs |
13th |
410 |
| Prado's thoughts on Taylor when he signed with USF in December: "Chad Taylor is another one; he can pitch, and he can play infield or outfield. He's another guy that's done a great job at his high school and has potential to be just a great player. He is a good player right now and he can do a lot of things for us. He is like Chase and some other guys, in that he can play anywhere on the field.” |
|
Chase Greene |
CF |
New York Mets |
16th |
494 |
| Prado's thoughts on Greene when he signed with USF in December: "He's one of the fastest guys I've ever seen. He can do a lot of things; he can play infield, outfield, and he is probably one of the fastest guys in the state of Florida, so he's just going to bring so much to our club. He reminds me a lot of Boomer Whiting, whom I had at Louisville. He is that kind of player. He can make things happen and he has a chance to be a big impact player for us as a freshman.” |
|
Trey Manz |
C |
Cincinnati Reds |
26th |
779 |
| |
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Ryan Lockwood |
OF |
Oakland A's |
39th |
1173 |
| |
|
Ray Delphey |
RHP |
San Diego Padres |
42nd |
1254 |
|
Prado's thoughts on Delphey when he signed with USF in December: “The sky is the limit with Ray; he can definitely pitch, he can play outfield, and he has a great arm. The biggest thing with Ray is hopefully he will be on campus the first day of school. He has been throwing the ball great so far, and he will pitch a lot this year for his high school team. It's good-and-bad. Good because he's one of the best pitchers in the state of Florida and bad because a lot of people are going to see him pitch. He has the potential to be the number one starter on a Friday night in a program.” |
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Nick Lockwood, SS, 5-11, 175, R/R, Tampa, Fla., Jesuit High
An Under Armour Preseason All-American in 2008, Lockwood collected 30 hits and drive in 26 runs in 2009, seven hits and 10 RBI better than the 2008 season. He posted a .709 slugging percentage with nine doubles, one triple and five home runs. A perfect 14-for-14 stealing bases, Lockwood also had a .479 on base percentage and scored 30 runs in his senior season. Following the summer of 2008, he was honored as an Area Code All-American. Nick is the brother of current USF outfielder Ryan Lockwood, who was selected in the 39th round of the 2009 Draft by Oakland. |
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Shawn Sanford, RHP, 6-0, 210, R/R, Cinnaminson, N.J., Cinnaminson High
Sanford was previously drafted in the 43rd round of the 2006 MLB Draft by the Texas Rangers, but opted to come to USF to play for Coach Lelo Prado and the Bulls. Sanford pitched in a variety of roles for the Bulls during his years at USF. In 2009 as a starter, Sanford started 10 games and appeared in seven in relief. The pitcher went 5-4 during the 2009 season including a 4-1 mark in BIG EAST play. In 75.0 innings, he compiled a 4.68 ERA and struck out a team high 64 batters. He also walked just 22 batters and allowed no triples during the 2009 campaign. In relief, Sanford recorded three saves to give him 25 for his career, good for a tie for the fourth most in program history. Sanford was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll twice (04/28/09 and 05/14/09) and the Rivals.com 2008 Preseason All-Conference Team. |
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Chad Taylor, SS, 6-1, 175, R/R, Tampa, Fla., Jefferson HS
Taylor batted .342 in 23 games for Jefferson High in 2009. He tagged 25 hits and scored 27 runs while driving in 24 RBI. The Dragon connected on six doubles and six home runs his senior season. He also pitched six innings, allowing opponents a .095 batting average. A four-year varsity starter he was a first team All-Western Conference selection in 2008. The honorable mention All-Hillsborough County honoree hit .350 in 60 at bats, with seven doubles and eight RBI in his junior season. Along with scoring 10 runs, he was 7-7 stealing bases. On the mound, Taylor posted a 0.553 ERA in 12.2 innings, allowing only four hits and one run while recording one win and a pair of saves. He made one start and struck out 21 batters. |
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Chase Greene, CF, 5-11, 180, R/R, Boca Raton, Fla., West Boca Raton Community High
A middle infielder from Parkland, Fla., Chase Green is ranked as the 237th-best player in the country, according to the Perfect Game. Throughout his career, he has been invited to play in the Perfect Game (PG) National Showcase, Florida Diamond Club - where he ran a 6.49 second 60 yd. dash, the fastest at the event, the Miami All-Star game and the Under Armor Preseason All-American Showcase. |
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Trey Manz, C, 6-1, 205, L/R, Columbus, Ga., Shaw High | Central Alabama | Chipola CC
Senior Trey Manz was named second team All-BIG EAST Conference after collecting seven doubles and three home runs in his 22 league games. Overall, Manz led the 2009 Bulls with a .541 slugging percentage in 46 games. He had six home runs, 15 doubles and 24 RBI. The catcher batted .293 for the Bulls in his senior season. Manz was a two-year player for USF, posting a .259 average with seven homers, 28 doubles and 50 RBI in 95 career games. |
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Ryan Lockwood, OF, 5-10, 170, L/R, Tampa, Fla., Jesuit HS
The 2008 CBN National Freshman of the Year and Freshman All-American, Lockwood has posted a .346 career batting average in two seasons at USF. He has collected 148 hits and totaled 26 doubles while stealing 22 bases for the Bulls. The graduate of Jesuit High in Tampa has registered two immaculate streaks in his time at USF. The first, a 32-game hitting streak, and the second, a streak of reaching base safely in 87-consecutive games. In his rookie campaign he led the BIG EAST in batting with a .454 average in league games. His brother, Nick, is a 2009-10 signee for USF and was selected in the ninth round of the 2009 Draft by Minnesota. |
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Ray Delphey, P/OF, Alonso High, Tampa, Fla.
Delphey is pitcher and outfielder who led 6A Alonso High in Tampa to a 30-3 record in 2009. In 38 innings on the hill, this righty posted a 0.92 ERA, allowing opposing batters a miniscule .111 batting average against. He collected 64 strikeouts and allowed only four extra base hits while earning five wins in seven appearances. He registered one complete game and had three shutouts in his senior campaign. As a junior, Delphey, who helped the Ravens to a 21-4 overall record in 2008, drove in 20 runs from 18 hits, including four doubles and two home runs. He drew nine walks and recorded a .341 on base percentage. As a pitcher, he posted a 5-2 record with one shutout. He started eight games, striking out 57 batters in 39.1 innings. |
