Grand Canyon University is receiving more attention from scouts this year than at any point in the 70-year history of the program. The reason for that is simple. Shortstop Jacob Wilson is projected to be the first-ever first-round pick from the Phoenix-based school.
Tim Salmon, the Angels’ 1989 third-round pick and franchise record-holder for home runs until Mike Trout came along, is Grand Canyon’s most famous alumni. But he is not the program’s highest-drafted player.
The highest draft picks in GCU history were both second-rounders, shortstop LeRoy McDonald in 1969 and lefthander Kevin Wickander in 1986. The latter pitched six seasons in the major leagues.
Wilson is a second-team preseason All-America shortstop, and that extra visibility elevates the profile of a GCU baseball program that returned to Division I in 2014.
“There’s definitely a buzz. There’s a lot of excitement,” first-year head coach Greg Wallis said. “You notice the media attention that he’s getting, that we’re getting, and you see more scouts around that you don’t recognize . . . It’s just built an incredible excitement around the program and the upcoming season.”
That Wilson would return to campus for his third season was not a certainty after longtime head coach Andy Stankiewicz left for the head coaching job at Southern California. Wallis, an assistant coach for nine seasons, had also departed for a job as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Ohio State before being brought back to replace Stankiewicz.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة February 2023 من Baseball America.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة February 2023 من Baseball America.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Wood Has Towering Upside- Nationals rookie James Wood also stands 6-foot-7 and also has game-changing power.
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