As many baseball fans know, the MLB draft recently happened and was an exciting time for many athletes. It also brought back memories for young players whose lives changed forever. I remember last year’s draft because Dansby Swanson, from Vanderbilt, was the number one pick. He’s from my hometown and his family is a member of my church. It was an exciting time for our community as we got to support and cheer him on.

This year I got to listen for the names of baseball players from my university being called. You often hear names being called from schools like Duke, Vanderbilt, Alabama, and UGA, but a Southern Conference school like Samford doesn’t have players drafted every year. This year was different.

Heath Quin an All American Outfielder was a 3rd round pick and 95th overall to the San Francisco Giants. He signed on June 16, 2016. He told Patrick Brewer, a reporter and baseball fan, "I’ve been playing ever since I could pick up a bat… I got to play travel ball and played with some talented kids through high school. I got to play in some good travel ball tournaments and showcases growing up and that led me to Samford and Coach [Casey] Dunn.” Before Coach Dunn, Samford has never had more than one player drafted in a single year in Samford’s baseball program’s history. Coach Dunn must be doing something right. He finished 2016 with a .343 batting average, 21 home runs and a school-record 77 RBI. If that doesn't impress you enough he was also a member of the All-SoCon Tournament team and is the single-season leader in RBI for the Samford Bulldogs'.

Over the last six years there have been 19 players from Samford drafted. In the 2016 MLB draft, two infielders and one outfielder were chosen from Samford. There has only been one player from Samford to be chosen at an earlier time than Heath Quinn within the MLB Draft. In 2013, the Cincinnati Reds chose Phil Ervin in the first round, 27th overall.

Another player from Samford University, Hunter Swilling, a third baseman, was a 29th round pick by the Detroit Tigers, 865th overall. He has yet to sign but according to his social media accounts he has said that, “It was really special to have a season like we did and be drafted with those guys” referring to Alex Lee and Heath Quinn. He said that he feels “blessed with the opportunity." Samford Baseball has the top winning percent of all division 1 teams in the state of Alabama since 2011.

Alex Lee a first baseman, was a 22nd round pick, 649th overall, to the Atlanta Braves. Alex Lee signed on June 15, 2016. Lee told Will Gaines from the Anniston Star, “I’ve gone from ballpark to ballpark since I was 3 years old and for me to now say that I play professional baseball is something special.” He finished the year with a .335 batting average with 11 home runs, 45 RBIs, 12 doubles and 80 hits. Lee has fought to play baseball after not receiving many offers out of high school, playing for Central Alabama Community College and then Samford. He signed a $50,000 deal with the Atlanta Braves also negotiating to have the rest of his college career, two semesters, paid for.

Baseball fans, Samford students and Alumni are all proud of our players for achieving their dreams and we are happy that the Giants, Braves and Lions are helping them do so. Best of luck boys!