Three Knights picked in draft

For most young baseball players, getting drafted to the major leagues is the ultimate dream. That dream became a reality for three UCF Baseball players on Wednesday and Thursday.

Austin Hudson, Chadd Hartman and Shane Brown were all selected in the 2009 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, marking the 68th, 69th and 70th times, respectively, that a UCF player was picked.

"I'm excited that those guys will have the opportunity to sign a professional contract," UCF baseball head coach Terry Rooney said. "It's quite an honor, and it's a credit to the type of career they have had and their drive and ambition. So I think it's quite an honor to be selected by a professional team."

Each player took his own route to being selected. Hudson, who had been drafted out of high school in the 2006 MLB Draft by the Washington Nationals, was the first Knight off the board, being selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 27th round.

In his 58 career appearances at UCF, Hudson compiled a 4-4 record with a 7.12 ERA. Rooney thinks that his potential is one of the main reasons the Mariners decided to select him.

"I think Austin Hudson getting selected is about potential and upside," he said. "Obviously, there is a lot of things to work with [in] Austin's case, and certainly the Mariners thought that they could take some time to try to fine tune a lot of his mechanical things."

Hartman was the next Knight to come off the board, going in the 43rd round to the San Diego Padres. For his career, Hartman hit .245 in 164 career games, but it was his athleticism that caught the attention of the Padres. He went to work out for them a week before and felt they would give him a shot.

"They knew I wanted to play in the first place," Hartman said. "I know that throughout this season and last season, my numbers didn't match up, but they told me that I hit the ball real well in San Diego. They just said ‘since you have great athleticism, and you still have some tools that we can still work with you a little bit.'"

They took a gamble on me, and it isn't going to cost them that much, so I think that they decided to take a risk on me."

Hartman is someone Rooney deems as a total team player. He was happy that a team gave him a shot to prove himself.

"Chadd Hartman, as I have said many times, is a consummate team player throughout this past year," Rooney said. "He has always done everything that was required of the team, and [he] is a tremendous kid on and off the field. It is great, because that's what makes coaching, to be able to see a man like Chadd get an opportunity."

Brown, one of the centerpieces of the UCF lineup the past two seasons, also heard his name called in the final rounds on Thursday, being selected by the New York Yankees with the 1,425th pick in the draft.

The junior led the Knights in average this past season at .341 and tied an NCAA record in April by reaching base in 18 consecutive plate appearances.

In his three seasons for the Knights, two as a starter, Brown has a career .335 average and has racked up 162 hits, 15 home runs and 105 RBIs.

"It's a dream come true and something I have been working on since a little kid," Brown said. "For it to come true is awesome, especially the Yankees, because they are my family's favorite team."

Unlike Hartman, Hudson and Brown both have decisions whether to return to school or go pro.

For Brown, it's a decision that will take some time to make.

"I'm not really sure yet," Brown said of whether he would go pro or return to UCF.

"Whatever is the best opportunity for me and my future. I'm not sure. We will find out soon."

A couple of other big names for UCF weren't as fortunate to hear their name come off the board, most notably seniors Brandon Romans and Kiko Vazquez. Romans led the team in home runs this past season with 14, and Vazquez finished in sixth place on the career home run list in UCF history with 29.

Rooney said there are other factors aside from how well a player performs that teams look at in the draft.

"Getting selected is not always about production, it's about upside and value," Rooney said. "Although statistically somebody might have a great year, an organization may think they may not profile into a certain position so to speak. It's kind of the way it goes, unfortunately."

There were also four future Knights that were selected in the draft. Outfielder Ronnie Richardson, pitcher Alex Besaw, pitcher Benjamin Dew and infielder Darnell Sweeny — all 2009 recruits — were picked up by teams in the draft, with Richardson going highest: the 11th round to the Minnesota Twins.

Despite the recruits getting selected, Rooney said it doesn't impact the way he will continue to stockpile talent for the coming seasons.

"I anticipated those four players being selected in the draft," he said. "This is the balance of college baseball recruiting. You need to recruit players that have the ability to play professional baseball, but you are only going to sign kids who have the intentions of enrolling in college."