Photo by: Grace Hand
Sam Mongelli Selected by Los Angeles Dodgers on Second Day of MLB Draft
7/10/2023 6:18:00 PM | Baseball
Shortstop becomes 17th draft pick in program history
SEATTLE (July 10, 2023) – Senior shortstop Sam Mongelli (Marlboro, N.Y.) of the Sacred Heart University baseball team was selected on Monday evening by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 10th round (310 overall) of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, held at Lumen Field in Seattle, in conjunction with this week's MLB All-Star Game.
Mongelli is the first Pioneer to be selected in the MLB Draft since 2016, when current Detroit Tiger infielder Zack Short was selected in the 17th round. Mongelli is the highest SHU draft pick since Kody Kerski was taken in the eighth round (231 overall) by Seattle in 2014. At 310 overall, Mongelli is the fourth-highest draft pick in program history.
In becoming the 17th draft pick in school history, Mongelli became the third Sacred Heart player drafted by the Dodgers. The first came in 1970, when John Cosmos was selected in the 15th round, though he did not sign and re-entered the draft in 1971. More recently, Michael Drowne was selected in the 28th round in 2010 and logged 69.2 innings of work over 47 appearances across two seasons in the Los Angeles system.
The Dodgers' rookie-level affiliate plays in the Arizona Complex League, while their Single-A affiliate is the Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) Quakes of the California League. Both are plausible as Mongelli's first professional assignment.
"I am incredibly proud of Sam and couldn't be happier for him and his family," said head coach Pat Egan, himself a two-time draftee of the Baltimore Orioles, in 2005 and 2006. "He has worked his entire life for this opportunity, and nobody deserves this more than him. He is a Pio for life, but has now made everyone here at SHU a Dodgers fan."
The first SHU baseball player to earn All-America honors in more than 30 years, Mongelli posted a slash line of .402/.495/.743 over 55 games this spring, which was good for a 1.238 OPS over 241 at-bats (97-for-241) and earned him Northeast Conference Player of the Year honors. He led the NEC in on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS, in addition to runs scored (81), hits (97), home runs (20) and total bases (179). The 81 runs scored are a new NEC single-season record, while the 20 home runs tied the conference's high-water mark.
At the national level, Mongelli finished second in the country in runs per game (1.47), third in hits per game (1.76) and fifth in runs scored. He was also among the top 20 in the nation in batting average, hits, slugging percentage and total bases.
Mongelli was the first player from an NEC school selected in this year's draft, and the third player from the state of Connecticut, joining third-round pick Hiro Wyatt (Staples HS) and fellow 10th-round pick Andrew Sears (UConn).
Sacred Heart (28-30, 17-13 NEC) was picked to finish eighth in the NEC, but finished fourth instead, and made a run to the semifinal round of the NEC Championship.
Mongelli is the first Pioneer to be selected in the MLB Draft since 2016, when current Detroit Tiger infielder Zack Short was selected in the 17th round. Mongelli is the highest SHU draft pick since Kody Kerski was taken in the eighth round (231 overall) by Seattle in 2014. At 310 overall, Mongelli is the fourth-highest draft pick in program history.
In becoming the 17th draft pick in school history, Mongelli became the third Sacred Heart player drafted by the Dodgers. The first came in 1970, when John Cosmos was selected in the 15th round, though he did not sign and re-entered the draft in 1971. More recently, Michael Drowne was selected in the 28th round in 2010 and logged 69.2 innings of work over 47 appearances across two seasons in the Los Angeles system.
The Dodgers' rookie-level affiliate plays in the Arizona Complex League, while their Single-A affiliate is the Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) Quakes of the California League. Both are plausible as Mongelli's first professional assignment.
"I am incredibly proud of Sam and couldn't be happier for him and his family," said head coach Pat Egan, himself a two-time draftee of the Baltimore Orioles, in 2005 and 2006. "He has worked his entire life for this opportunity, and nobody deserves this more than him. He is a Pio for life, but has now made everyone here at SHU a Dodgers fan."
The first SHU baseball player to earn All-America honors in more than 30 years, Mongelli posted a slash line of .402/.495/.743 over 55 games this spring, which was good for a 1.238 OPS over 241 at-bats (97-for-241) and earned him Northeast Conference Player of the Year honors. He led the NEC in on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS, in addition to runs scored (81), hits (97), home runs (20) and total bases (179). The 81 runs scored are a new NEC single-season record, while the 20 home runs tied the conference's high-water mark.
At the national level, Mongelli finished second in the country in runs per game (1.47), third in hits per game (1.76) and fifth in runs scored. He was also among the top 20 in the nation in batting average, hits, slugging percentage and total bases.
Mongelli was the first player from an NEC school selected in this year's draft, and the third player from the state of Connecticut, joining third-round pick Hiro Wyatt (Staples HS) and fellow 10th-round pick Andrew Sears (UConn).
Sacred Heart (28-30, 17-13 NEC) was picked to finish eighth in the NEC, but finished fourth instead, and made a run to the semifinal round of the NEC Championship.
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