Last year, 45 NAIA athletes (including 33 pitchers) were lucky enough to get drafted, something many baseball players can only dream of. This year, 44 players from 28 schools were drafted by 24 of MLB’s 30 professional organizations.
The first player taken was Dane Phillips from Oklahoma City University. Phillips, who hails from Nacogdoches, Texas, was drafted by the San Diego Padres (70th overall) in the second round.
The NAIA normally does not get a lot attention when compared to its NCAA counterpart, but with a .410 BA, 14 home runs, 67 RBI, 26 doubles and a .767 slugging percentage, you can see why the Padres were high on Philips.
The glory is always received by the NCAA, but the NAIA is making some serious noise. Baseball is baseball, and if you can ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - MLB By Devon Teeple