Four America East student/athletes were selected in the Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft. Maine junior pitcher Mike Collar was the highest picked, selected by the Houston Astros in the Eighth Round (overall pick 239).
Collar is joined as an Astros draftee by Vermont senior pitcher Jamie Merchant, who was selected in the 16th round (479th overall pick). Just six picks later (16th round, 485 overall), Northeastern senior second baseman Omar Pena was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals. Vermont senior outfielder Jeff Barry was picked in the 18th round (522nd overall) by the Kansas City Royals to round out the America East draftees on the first day of the draft (rounds 1-20).
Collar, a first team all-conference pick each of the last two seasons, led America East in strikeouts with 98 over 83.0 innings of work, while posting a 8-3 record and a 3.14 ERA. He was the seventh pick for the Astros, and the fourth pitcher taken by the team. Former America East player Jeff Bagwell is a current member of the Astros.
Merchant, the America East Pitcher of the Year, led the conference and ranked eighth nationally with a 1.56 ERA. He posted a 7-2 record on the mound and ranked second among the conference leaders in complete games with six this season. Merchant also registered 81 strikeouts in 75.0 innings pitched.
Pena, the younger brother of former America East star and current Detriot Tiger Carlos Pena, who played both middle infield positions for Northeastern, batted .304 with six home runs and 26 RBI for the America East Champion Huskies.
Barry led America East in steals for three straight seasons, including a league-leading 29 this season, which placed him 19th among the national leaders. He batted .311 for the America East regular season champion Catamounts.