A Record 27 C-USA Players selected in MLB Draft

Michael Aubrey

A total of 27 players were selected in the 2003 major league baseball draft, which concluded late Wednesday. Included were three first round choices for the first time in league history. Conference USA and the Pac-10 were the only conferences that produced three first round picks. Tulane first baseman Michael Aubrey was selected by the Cleveland Indians with the 11th pick, Houston reliever Ryan Wagner was chosen by the Cincinnati Reds with the 14th selection and Houston righthander Brad Sullivan was taken by the Oakland A’s with the 25th choice.

Aubrey, the 2003 Conference USA Player of the Year, is a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award, Dick Howser Trophy and the Smith Award, all representing the best player in collegiate baseball. He leads Conference USA with a .420 batting average and a .505 on-base percentage, topping the circuit in hits (102) and RBI (79), while smacking 18 home runs and 20 doubles. A National Freshman of the Year in 2001, Aubrey was honored by USA Baseball as the 2002 Team USA Athlete of the Year after leading the U.S. National Team to a silver medal at the inaugural FISU World University Baseball Championships.

Wagner set a school record with 14 saves this season and his 138 strikeouts (in just 73 1/3 innings pitched) rank third on the school’s single-season list. With an average of 16.7 strikeouts per nine innings, he is on pace to break the 39-year old NCAA record in that category. Wagner has recorded six wins in relief, including the clinching victory over Texas A&M at the College Station Regional last Sunday. His 2.06 ERA is the second-lowest in the league and Wagner has walked just 20 batters in 74 1/3 innings pitched.

Already the school’s all-time record holder, Sullivan enters this weekend’s Houston Super Regional with 407 career K’s and needs just three strikeouts to break the Conference USA career mark. He has fanned 152 batters this season, just five shy of his national-leading 2002 total of 157 that set UH and C-USA records. Sullivan ranks fourth in the league in ERA at 2.71, has thrown a league-high 119 2/3 innings and held opponents to a .200 batting average (fourth-lowest in C-USA). The 2001 Conference USA Pitcher of the Year, Sullivan was a three-time all-league first team selection and was named Baseball America’s 2002 Summer Player of the Year after pitching for Team USA.

Of the nine league schools that had a player drafted, Houston produced the most selections with six, followed by TCU with five. The Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Devil Rays each selected three C-USA players, the most among the 15 major league teams that drafted a player from the league.

Rd. Player Pos. School MLB Team
1 Michael Aubrey 1B Tulane Cleveland Indians
1 Ryan Wagner RHP Houston Cincinnati Reds
1 Brad Sullivan RHP Houston Oakland A’s
3 Tony Giarratano SS Tulane Detroit Tigers
3 Clint King OF Southern Miss Chicago White Sox
4 Bob McCrory RHP Southern Miss Baltimore Orioles
4 Michael Bourn OF Houston Philadelphia Phillies
5 Danny Zell LHP Houston Detroit Tigers
5 Jeff Cook OF Southern Miss Arizona Diamondbacks
7 Brian Henderson RHP Houston Tampa Bay Devil Rays
10 Jake Duncan OF TCU Baltimore Orioles
11 Myron Leslie 3B South Florida Philadelphia Phillies
11 Glenn Tucker RHP East Carolina Atlanta Braves
12 Jonny Kaplan OF Tulane Arizona Diamondbacks
13 Mark Jurich OF Louisville Atlanta Braves
15 David Austen RHP South Florida Anaheim Angels
17 Kevin House CF Memphis St. Louis Cardinals
19 Jon Uhl RHP South Florida Minnesota Twins
22 Terry Trofholz OF TCU Milwaukee Brewers
23 Brett Cooley OF Houston Montreal Expos
24 Cory Hahn RHP Tulane Oakland A’s
25 Mitch Jones OF UAB Tampa Bay Devil Rays
25 Justin Hatcher C TCU Texas Rangers
28 Davey Penny RHP East Carolina Boston Red Sox
30 Chris Osentowski RHP TCU Baltimore Orioles
32 Will Lewis IF TCU Milwaukee Brewers
46 Josh Bolen OF Louisville Tampa Bay Devil Rays