MOBILE, Ala. ? The University of South Alabama baseball program had two players selected by Major League clubs Friday, as junior first baseman Jeff Cunningham and junior catcher Joel Collins each had their names called.
Cunningham was the first Jag selected. The Colorado Rockies used their seventh round pick to take the Vincennes, Ind. native. USA’s single-season home run record holder swatted 22 home runs in 2007, wore number 22 and was the 222nd pick of the draft.
“Obviously I am very excited, this is a day I have been waiting for since I started playing baseball,” said Cunningham from his Vincennes, Ind. home. “It’s a dream come true and I want to thank all of the people that have helped me get to this day. All of my coaches, teammates, friends and family have a lot to do with this and I want to thank them all.”
It may be a bit of a homecoming for Collins. The Richmond Hill, Ont. native is one of two Canadians on the 2007 Jag roster. The Toronto Blue Jays called Collins’ name in the 10th round as the 323rd player taken. Being selected by the hometown team was not lost on Collins.
“My Dad has been a Toronto Blue Jays season ticket holder since their inaugural season of 1977,” said Collins. “I grew up as a Jays fan, from the time I was a little kid. This is a dream come true. I owe a lot to a lot of people and I’ll be making plenty of calls to let them all know.”
Collins is the first USA player selected by the Blue Jays since the Canadian club took Adam Lind in 2004. Lind is now with the big club in Toronto. Cunningham is the first Jag taken by the Rockies since they selected Casey Almond in 2001.
The two Jags selected brings the streak to eight consecutive seasons that USA has had multiple players make the jump to the professional ranks. In 2001, USA had nine players sign to play professional baseball, the highest total for one season in Jag history.
The draft is the next step in an off-season full of accolades for the Jag duo. Collins was rewarded by making the semi-final cut of the Johnny Bench Watch List, given to the top Division I catcher. Cunningham has already been named as a Third Team Collegiate Baseball All-American.
