NEW YORK – University of South Alabama junior left fielder Dylan Hardy, right-handed pitcher Zach Greene, right-hander Tyler Carr and shortstop Drew LaBounty were each selected on day three of the 2018 Major League Baseball Draft Wednesday.

Hardy was selected in the 13th round (400th overall) by the Boston Red Sox, and Greene was a 15th-round selection (447th overall) by the Miami Marlins. The Philadelphia Phillies took Carr in the 31st round (917th overall), and LaBounty was selected in the 40th round (1196th overall) by the Toronto Blue Jays. 

"I'm just thankful and blessed that the Red Sox have given me this opportunity to go play professional baseball," Hardy said. "It's a dream I have been trying to pursue my entire life – it's just a blessing. One of the things on my bucket list is to go watch a game at Fenway Park, and now I get the opportunity to hopefully play there. South Alabama couldn't have been a better fit for me. The coaching staff, Coach (Mark) Calvi, Coach (Chris) Prothro, Coach (Alan) Luckie, Coach (Bob) Keller and Andrew Carden, really pushed me to just be a better version of myself every day whether it was in baseball or life. I can't thank them enough for the past three years for helping mold me into the man I am today. It's unreal to go from not really being recruited at all out of high school to then being given a chance by Coach Calvi, and now I'm a 13th rounder in three years – it's just unreal."

Hardy ranked fourth in the Sun Belt Conference in hits (79), tied for fifth in batting average (.331), seventh in runs scored (59) and eighth in stolen bases (19). He led the Jags in batting average, hits and runs scored, while also adding 11 doubles, two triples, four home runs, 27 RBIs, 19 stolen bases and a .409 on-base percentage, and did not commit an error in 110 chances in left field in 57 games played this season en route to first-team all-SBC honors. He hit .325 with seven doubles, one triple, three home runs, 13 RBIs, 28 runs scored and 10 stolen bases in 29 SBC contests.

As a sophomore in 2017, Hardy earned second-team all-SBC honors after leading the league in batting average (.363), while also recording 10 doubles, two triples, five home runs, 30 RBIs, 53 runs scored, 18 stolen bases and a .424 OBP. He finished second in the SBC in '17 in batting average (.387) in league contests, tied for second in stolen bases (9) and ranked third in runs scored (33). He was also named to the NCAA Hattiesburg (Miss.) All-Regional team after hitting .429 with one home run, two RBIs and two runs scored along with a .467 OBP in three games.

Hardy has batted .340 with 23 doubles, four triples, nine home run, 61 RBIs, 124 runs scored, 50 stolen bases in 60 attempts and posted a .416 on-base percentage in 154 career games played at South Alabama. 

Greene finished 13th in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings (12.63), and 23rd in the country in strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.15). He ranked tied for 10th in the SBC in strikeouts (80) and saves (5). Greene went 2-4 with a 3.79 ERA and five saves in 23 appearances with two starts this season, and struck out 80 batters against 13 walks in 57 innings pitched while limiting opponents to a .245 batting average. In 11 relief appearances in SBC contests, Greene recorded three saves and struck out 35 batters while issuing just four walks in 25 2/3 innings pitched.

"It really hasn't sunk in yet," Greene said. "I was sitting in Coach Calvi's office just talking with him, and I didn't even know I got picked until Coach Prothro told me. It's just an unbelievable feeling. I was a junior college position player out of high school, but kind of saw my future being on the mound. I was fortunate enough to get a small Division I offer and that wasn't the fit for me, so I went to junior college where I really tuned my craft and was lucky enough to catch Coach Calvi's eye and come to South Alabama. I can't really say how much that helped me, but it was a tremendous amount of work that they help me put in and made me into the player I am today."

Carr earned second-team all-SBC honors this season after leading the league in wins (7) in conference games. The right-hander finished the year 9-3 with a 3.53 ERA in 15 starts, and recorded 64 strikeouts against 22 walks in 94 1/3 innings pitched while also tossing two complete games. He finished the season tied for the SBC lead in wins (9), sixth in innings pitched (94.1) and eighth in ERA (3.53). 

"I was on my phone and had it (draft) on the computer," Carr said. "I just happened to look over and saw my name and that I got drafted. It's obviously a great feeling, and I'm looking forward to what pro ball has for me."

Carr came one strike away from pitching the program's first nine-inning no-hitter on April 20 at Texas State before surrendering the lone Bobcat hit of the game with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. He was named the SBC Pitcher of the Week on April 24 for his effort at Texas State. In SBC games, Carr finished 7-1 with a 3.31 ERA in 10 starts, and struck out 43 batters against 15 walks in 65 1/3 innings pitched while also combining for one shutout.

LaBounty, who missed the 2018 season due to injury, earned first-team all-SBC honors at shortstop in consecutive seasons in 2016-17. In 2017, LaBounty committed just seven errors in 232 total chances at shortstop to help South Alabama set a new program single-season fielding percentage record of .980. He started all 53 games he played as a redshirt junior in '17, and batted .301 with 16 doubles, four home runs, 42 RBIs, 47 runs scored, a .447 OBP, and seven stolen bases, and hit .340 with nine doubles, two home runs, 25 RBIs, 26 runs scored, two stolen bases and .477 OBP in 27 SBC contests. He finished second in the SBC in walks (50), which ranked 13th nationally in 2017 LaBounty helped lead the Jaguars to an SBC Tournament title in 2017, the program's first since 2005, as well as the NCAA Hattiesburg (Miss.) Regional. 

In 2016, LaBounty led the SBC and ranked sixth nationally in walks (59), which ranks tied for fourth on the Jaguar single-season record list, ranked second in the league in OBP (.444), sacrifice flies (7) and total plate appearances (286), fourth in stolen bases (14), seventh in runs scored (47) and tied for eighth in RBIs (43). He batted .284 with 12 doubles, one triple, two home runs, 43 RBIs, 47 runs scored, 14 stolen bases and .444 OBP in 63 games played, and helped lead the Jags to an SBC championship and NCAA Tallahassee (Fla.) Regional. LaBounty ranks second in career walks (149) at South Alabama, and 13th in games played (183).

"I was coaching a game and one of my buddies saw it on Twitter," LaBounty said of when he first received the news of being drafted. "It means the world. I can't thank the Blue Jays enough for thinking of me in this way. They're just a class organization – an organization that I have a ton of respect for. I'm just so thankful that they thought of me in this manner. This is obviously something I have dreamed about my whole life, and I'm just so grateful and thankful that the Blue Jays were able to do this for me. I didn't have any idea what was going on. I didn't expect anything as far as the draft, and then to see my name called is just amazing."

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