NEW YORK ? Three Bradley Baseball recruits were selected during Thursday's final day of the 2009 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Pitcher Patrick Cooper (Danville, Ky./Boyle County H.S.) was selected in the 34th round by the Arizona Diamondbacks, pitcher John Nasshan (Niles, Ill./Niles West H.S.) in the 48th round by the Chicago Cubs and outfielder Christian Segar (Mendon, N.Y./McQuaid Jesuit H.S.) in the 49th round by the Cubs.
After playing his freshman year in 2007 at Eastern Kentucky University, Cooper transferred to DMACC after head coach Elvis Dominguez left the Colonels to replace retiring Bradley skipper Dewey Kalmer. Cooper was named a NJCAA Division II All-American after posting an 8-1 record with a 3.48 earned run average and ranking fourth nationally with 106 strikeouts in just 72.1 innings pitched. He also was named the 2009 Region 11 Pitcher of the Year after helping DMACC to a No. 3 final ranking and a spot in the NJCAA Division II World Series.
Boasting a low 90's fastball with a “plus” change-up and “above average” slider, the 6-foot-3 right-hander was tabbed the No. 1 prospect coming out of the 2008 Jayhawk Summer League after pitching for the Hays (Kan.) Larks last summer. He is currently pitching in the prestigious Cape Cod League for the Falmouth Commodores.
A 6-foot-6 right-hander, Nasshan was an all-conference performer on the mound as a junior in 2008 at Niles West High School. Prior to his senior season, he was rated as the No. 84 prospect in the state of Illinois by Prep Baseball Report.
Segar is one of the fastest prospects in the Northeast region, clocking a 60 time in the 6.45-6.6 range. In addition to his play on the diamond, Segar is an accomplished track sprinter, winning the 2008 New York Section V championship in the 300 meters and placing fourth in the 55 meters.
During the second day of the MLB First-Year Player Draft Wednesday, Bradley fourth-year junior pitcher Rob Scahill was taken in the eighth round by the Colorado Rockies. The Braves have had a player selected in the first eight rounds in three of the last four years ? Brandon Magee in the fourth round by Toronto in 2006 and Dan Brewer in the eighth round by the New York Yankees in 2008.
Cooper, Nasshan and Segar all signed with Bradley in the fall as part of a recruiting class that now has grown to 15 players for the 2010 season.
