SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Missouri State junior Drew Millas was selected in the seventh round of the 2019 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft Tuesday afternoon, as the Oakland Athletics nabbed the Bears’ All-American catcher with the 224th overall pick.
After earning back-to-back first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference honors over the last two seasons, Millas becomes the 16th Bear to be taken in the top 10 rounds of the MLB Draft over the last 10 years.
Millas earned first-team All-MVC honors for the second consecutive season after hitting .275 with five homers and 25 RBIs this spring. The Swansea, Ill., product registered a career-best streak of 22-consecutive games reaching base safely via a hit, walk or hit by pitch from April 2-May 10 and recorded at least one hit in 32 of the Bears’ final 40 contests. He also logged 15 multi-hit efforts on the season and 42 for his MSU career.
Over his three-year career in Maroon and White, Millas hit .276 with 13 homers and 115 RBIs in 159 total games, including 150 starts. He turned in a breakthrough 2018 campaign in which he batted .321 with seven homers and 61 RBIs to earn second-team All-America recognition from the NCBWA. Millas helped the Bears’ to their second-straight MVC regular-season crown and NCAA Regional berth.
Overall, the Bears have produced 144 players who have gone on to sign professional contracts over their 56 years as a varsity program, including 125 during Keith Guttin’s 37-year tenure as head coach.
The 2019 MLB First-Year Player Draft will continue through Wednesday (June 5). Rounds 11-40 of the Draft can be heard live onMLB.com, beginning at 11 a.m. (CDT) tomorrow.
Courtesy of: Missouri State Athletics Communications
