Luke Miller round 31 pick
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IU’s Miller, North’s Crean selected on final day of MLB Draft
by Mike Miller
A Hoosier and a Cougar were each selected on the final day of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
The Minnesota Twins picked Indiana third baseman Luke Miller in the 31st round, while the Chicago White Sox selected Bloomington North’s Riley Crean in the 35th round on Wednesday.
Miller, a draft-eligible sophomore taken with the No. 916 overall pick, has until July 15 to decide whether to sign a contract with the Twins or return to school. Crean, the first baseball player drafted out of North, had been committed to playing baseball at IU next season. Instead, he will spend a post-graduate year at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. and seek a college opportunity elsewhere.
Miller is the 90th all-time draft pick at Indiana, which has now had 20 players selected during the past five years. Senior outfielder Craig Dedelow was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the ninth round on Tuesday.
A Muncie native, Miller finished second on the team this season in batting average (.284), hits (54), doubles (11), third in steals (seven) and sixth in RBIs (23). Miller also had an IU season-best streak of having reached base in 23 consecutive games.
He was tied for third in the Big Ten in runs (52), eighth in home runs (10) and 11th in total bases (109).
Entering the season, Miller was named to the Big Ten’s Players to Watch list, while also receiving preseason all-conference honors from Perfect Game. A year ago, Miller was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American — IU’s first since right-hander Scott Effross in 2013.
Crean, who pitched and played outfield at North, was drafted as a pitcher with the No. 1,047 overall pick. Crean said he knew of “two or three” teams that were interested in selecting him during the latter rounds Wednesday.
“We were just around the computer all day, just following it,” Crean said. “I was pretty anxious, but excited when I heard my name. Looking back, all the 6 a.m. mornings are starting to pay off. It was just a lot of excitement. It was fun being around my family. It was a special moment.”
Crean, a second team honoree on The Herald-Times All-Area team, batted .325 with 10 doubles and 19 RBIs for the Cougars this spring. On the mound, he worked to a 2.21 ERA.
Crean, whose father, Tom, was dismissed as IU basketball coach in March, said he informed Indiana baseball coach Chris Lemonis over the weekend that he would not be attending IU next year as planned.
Instead, Crean will attend IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. for a post-graduate year.
“I spoke with Coach Lemonis on Sunday and made the decision not to go to Indiana,” Crean said. “I wanted to wait until the end of my high school season. I decided in the end, as much as I wanted to play for Coach Lemonis and his staff, I wouldn’t feel comfortable going to IU.”
Although getting his players drafted is a point of pride for Lemonis, his current team wasn’t hit too hard in this year’s draft.
Junior outfielder Logan Sowers and junior utility man/closer Matt Lloyd were also draft eligible this year, but neither was selected. That will give IU two big bats — and in Lloyd’s case, a reliable bullpen arm — for next season’s roster.
Also Wednesday, Lloyd was named to the American Baseball Coaches Association Mideast All-Region Team.
http://www.hoosiersportsreport.com/...ths-crean-selected-on-final-day-of-mlb-draft/
Go Hoosiers!
by Mike Miller
A Hoosier and a Cougar were each selected on the final day of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
The Minnesota Twins picked Indiana third baseman Luke Miller in the 31st round, while the Chicago White Sox selected Bloomington North’s Riley Crean in the 35th round on Wednesday.
Miller, a draft-eligible sophomore taken with the No. 916 overall pick, has until July 15 to decide whether to sign a contract with the Twins or return to school. Crean, the first baseball player drafted out of North, had been committed to playing baseball at IU next season. Instead, he will spend a post-graduate year at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. and seek a college opportunity elsewhere.
Miller is the 90th all-time draft pick at Indiana, which has now had 20 players selected during the past five years. Senior outfielder Craig Dedelow was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the ninth round on Tuesday.
A Muncie native, Miller finished second on the team this season in batting average (.284), hits (54), doubles (11), third in steals (seven) and sixth in RBIs (23). Miller also had an IU season-best streak of having reached base in 23 consecutive games.
He was tied for third in the Big Ten in runs (52), eighth in home runs (10) and 11th in total bases (109).
Entering the season, Miller was named to the Big Ten’s Players to Watch list, while also receiving preseason all-conference honors from Perfect Game. A year ago, Miller was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American — IU’s first since right-hander Scott Effross in 2013.
Crean, who pitched and played outfield at North, was drafted as a pitcher with the No. 1,047 overall pick. Crean said he knew of “two or three” teams that were interested in selecting him during the latter rounds Wednesday.
“We were just around the computer all day, just following it,” Crean said. “I was pretty anxious, but excited when I heard my name. Looking back, all the 6 a.m. mornings are starting to pay off. It was just a lot of excitement. It was fun being around my family. It was a special moment.”
Crean, a second team honoree on The Herald-Times All-Area team, batted .325 with 10 doubles and 19 RBIs for the Cougars this spring. On the mound, he worked to a 2.21 ERA.
Crean, whose father, Tom, was dismissed as IU basketball coach in March, said he informed Indiana baseball coach Chris Lemonis over the weekend that he would not be attending IU next year as planned.
Instead, Crean will attend IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. for a post-graduate year.
“I spoke with Coach Lemonis on Sunday and made the decision not to go to Indiana,” Crean said. “I wanted to wait until the end of my high school season. I decided in the end, as much as I wanted to play for Coach Lemonis and his staff, I wouldn’t feel comfortable going to IU.”
Although getting his players drafted is a point of pride for Lemonis, his current team wasn’t hit too hard in this year’s draft.
Junior outfielder Logan Sowers and junior utility man/closer Matt Lloyd were also draft eligible this year, but neither was selected. That will give IU two big bats — and in Lloyd’s case, a reliable bullpen arm — for next season’s roster.
Also Wednesday, Lloyd was named to the American Baseball Coaches Association Mideast All-Region Team.
http://www.hoosiersportsreport.com/...ths-crean-selected-on-final-day-of-mlb-draft/
Go Hoosiers!
