Posted: Jun 06, 2018
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara baseball third baseman John Cresto, pitcher Penn Murfee and incoming Bronco pitcher Keegan McCarville had their names called during the final day of the 2018 Major League Baseball First-Year Players Draft on Wednesday. The Colorado Rockies selected Cresto in the 28th round (846th overall), the Seattle Mariners selected Murfee in the 33rd round (988th overall) and the Tampa Bay Rays selected McCarville in the 24th round (720th overall).
Cresto, Murfee and McCarville join Tuesday's draftees Steven Wilson, who was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the eighth round (231st overall), and Jake Brodt, who was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the ninth round (266th overall). The four Broncos (who played last season at Santa Clara) drafted are the most in a single season since 2010 when four Broncos - Tommy Medica (14th round), Geoff Klein (15th round), Nate Garcia (16th round) and Alex Rivers (39th round) – were selected.
Cresto, the 846th overall pick in the draft, belted 28 career home runs in three years with the Broncos, putting him fifth all-time in the Santa Clara record books. The junior finished with 10 home runs this past season and 12 homers in his sophomore campaign to lead the team along with a .561 slugging percentage while hitting .307. The Encinitas, California, native was an All-West Coast Conference honorable mention in 2017 and made the WCC All-Freshman team in 2016.
Murfee, the 988th overall pick in the draft, pitched one season for the Broncos after transferring from Vanderbilt. The sidearm thrower was the swiss army knife of pitchers this past season, leading the team in wins (6) and innings pitched (66.2 IP) while recording four saves. In the final game of the season against Gonzaga, who ended up qualifying for the NCAA tournament, the Nashville, Tennesse, native set career-highs by pitching in 7 2/3 innings while striking out 10 to pick up the win.
McCarville, the 720th overall pick in the draft, signed with the Broncos last fall. The 6-foot-1 right-hander pitched for South Mountain Community College in Phoenix, Arizona, the past two seasons. This spring, McCarville started in all 16 games he appeared in, going 7-3 with a 2.44 ERA, while striking out 112 hitters in 96 innings.
Congratulations @john_cresto! The @Rockies select Cresto in the 28th round (846th pick) of the 2018 MLB Draft. #StampedeTogether pic.twitter.com/GpGV2B5Dpu
— Santa Clara Baseball (@SCU_Baseball) June 6, 2018
Congratulations Penn Murfee! The @mariners select Murfee in the 33rd round (988th pick) of the 2018 MLB Draft. #StampedeTogether pic.twitter.com/rE9hwYdb8E
— Santa Clara Baseball (@SCU_Baseball) June 6, 2018
Congratulations @k_mccarville! The @raysbaseball select McCarville, an incoming Bronco RHP who signed last fall, in the 24th round (720th pick) of the 2018 MLB Draft. #StampedeTogether pic.twitter.com/NkLWgOJETk
— Santa Clara Baseball (@SCU_Baseball) June 6, 2018
