Missouri State senior Kevin Medrano became the second Bear to be chosen in the 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, as the Arizona Diamondbacks selected the second baseman in the 18th round with the 573rd overall pick on the final day of the 40-round amateur draft Wednesday morning.
Medrano became the first Missouri Valley Conference player on record to earn first-team All-MVC honors in each of his four collegiate seasons, hitting a club-best .327 average to go along with team highs of 12 stolen bases and 81 hits and fielding .982 in 273 defensive chances at second base to earn MVC All-Defensive Team recognition as well. Medrano ranked second in the MVC in overall hits and fourth in doubles (19), matching the Missouri State single-game record for doubles (3) on two separate occasions this season.
The Lee’s Summit, Mo., product batted .346 over 217 career games with the Bears, the latter figure ranking seventh in Missouri State history. He also ranks second all-time at MSU in hits (310) and fielding assists (568) and holds the Bears’ career records for singles (241) and sacrifice hits (28). The author of 92 multi-hit games, Medrano was a two-time MSU Team MVP and a 2009 Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American. He also hit .410 as a sophomore in 2010, recording a 29-game hit streak that ranks second in MSU history.
Medrano joins junior pitcher Pierce Johnson, who was taken by the Chicago Cubs with the 43rd overall pick in the draft Monday evening, on Missouri State’s list of draftees. Additionally, three members of the Bears’ 2012 recruiting class were selected in the draft. Infielder Brett Wiley (Huntington, Ind., Jefferson College) was chosen by St. Louis in the 13th round (420th overall pick) Tuesday, while outfielder Tate Matheny (St. Louis, Mo., Westminster Christian HS) was picked in the 23rd round (720th overall pick) by his hometown club and right-handed pitcher Jonathan Harris (St. Louis, Mo., Hazelwood Central HS) was taken in the 33rd round (1015th overall) by Toronto on Wednesday.
