Shorewood senior pitcher Ian Oxnevad was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the eighth round of the 2015 Major League Baseball draft on Tuesday. He was the 251st overall selection.
Oxnevad was following the draft online at home with his family, girlfriend and a few Shorewood teammates when he saw his name pop up.
“I knew the Cardinals were pretty interested and I saw my name pop up and I was just ecstatic,” Oxnevad said. “It was a dream to come true to see my name up there next to an MLB team.”
The Cardinals selected Oxnevad just days after he pitched for the team in St. Louis.
“I knew they were pretty interested, so I kind of had it in the back of my mind that the Cardinals could always take me,” Oxnevad said.
Oxnevad goes to one of the most successful franchises in MLB history in the Cardinals. St. Louis has won 11 World Series championships and two since 2006.
“The Cardinals are one of the best teams in baseball,” Oxnevad said. “It couldn’t get any better in my opinion. I think those guys (Cardinals front office), they know what they’re doing over there and obviously it shows at the major league level. It practically seems like they are in the World Series every single year. It’s pretty amazing for sure that they decided to choose me.”
Oxnevad is committed to play baseball at Oregon State University and now must decide whether to sign with the Cardinals or play for the Beavers.
“I have to talk with my family and it’s going to be a hard decision,” Oxnevad said. “I’m just excited right now. … I have a big decision to make that’s for sure.”
The deadline for draft picks to sign with prospective MLB teams is June 17.
Oxnevad wasn’t the only pitcher with local ties to be drafted on Tuesday.
Washington State right-hander Sam Triece, who attended Meadowdale High School and Edmonds Community College before moving to Pullman, was selected in the 10th round (298th overall) by the Tampa Bay Rays.
Triece went 5-0 with a 2.66 earned run average as a key member of the Cougars bullpen this season. He led the team with 31 appearances, 28 of which came in relief, and struck out 59 batters in 50.2 innings pitched.
Triece was at his best in the season’s latter stages, going 5-0 with a 0.31 ERA since April 7.
He was also a two-time Pac-12 All-Academic selection while at WSU.
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