June 11, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" Junior third baseman Jim Haley (Upper Darby, Pa.) and senior closer Jack Anderson (Evanston, Ill.) became the first baseball student-athletes drafted out of Penn State since 2012, as both Nittany Lions had their names called on the third and final day of the 2016 MLB First-Year Player Draft.
The Tampa Bay Rays selected Haley in the 19th round with the 570th overall pick, while Anderson was tabbed by the Seattle Mariners in the 23rd round with the 687th pick. They are the first draft picks of head coach Rob Cooper's three-year tenure at Penn State. Cooper, who arrived at Penn State prior to the 2014 season after nine seasons at Wright State, has now coached nine MLB draft picks. One of those was current Los Angeles Angels reliever Joe Smith, who employs a submarine-style delivery like Anderson.
"We are extremely proud of Jim Haley and Jack Anderson," said Cooper. "Every young player dreams of playing professional baseball, and these two have the opportunity to follow their dreams. We will miss Jack and support Jim in whichever decision he makes, and we are so excited for both of them."
Haley has the choice to sign or return for his final year of college eligibility. A three-year starter with 143 starts in 146 appearances, Haley owns a .297 career average at Penn State with 28 doubles, seven triples, two home runs, 64 RBIs, 97 runs and 25 stolen bases. He is coming off his best offensive season, setting career highs with a .315 batting average, 45 runs, 69 hits, 12 doubles, 27 RBIs and 18 walks. Haley started and played in all 55 games, drawing the majority of his starts at third base after transitioning from shortstop. As a sophomore in 2015, Haley led Penn State in Big Ten games in batting (.333), on-base percentage (.396), runs (15), triples (3), doubles (9). He started 42 of 44 games as a freshman, batting .265.
Haley is the first Nittany Lion to be drafted by Tampa Bay, but the organization is not without Penn State influence, as alum Mitch Lukevics has been with the franchise since its inaugural season in 1998 and has served as its Director of Minor League Operations since 2006. Lukevics, who helped lead the Lions to the College World Series in 1973 as a freshman, still owns the program's record for career ERA at 1.24 and career shutouts with nine. His 24 career wins rank second all-time.
Anderson was a mainstay at the back-end of games, setting new career standards at Penn State for saves with 25 and appearances with 98. In 165 2/3 career innings pitched, he never allowed a home run. His senior season in 2016 was his finest, and he was named to the All-Big Ten third team. He set Penn State's single-season record for saves with 13 to tie for the Big Ten lead and totaled a career-best 2.14 ERA in 54 2/3 innings pitched, just a third of an inning shy of being eligible to qualify amongst the league leaders for ERA. Of his 29 appearances on the year, which tied for the second most in program history and second in the league this year, only five were for an inning or less.
Anderson is the first Nittany Lion to be drafted by the Mariners.
Prior to Haley and Anderson, the last to be drafted out of Penn State were in 2012. LHP Joe Kurrasch was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the eighth round with pick No. 268, infielder Jordan Steranka was selected in the 21st round with pick No. 646 by the Pittsburgh Pirates, and RHP John Walter was drafted in the 29th round with pick No. 883 by the Kansas City Royals. Including Haley and Anderson, 55 different Nittany Lions have been drafted out of Penn State in the first-year draft since it began in 1965.
The deadline for all amateur draft picks to sign with their respective clubs is July 15.