MLB Draft First-Round Selections: From Hoop Dreams to Field of Dreams
June 6th, 2013 - 19:39
Chicago White Sox lefthanded reliever Matt Thornton averaged 5.8 points and 2.4 rebounds per game for Grand Valley State (MI) from 1995-96 through 1997-98, shooting 54.7% from the floor his last two seasons before becoming a first-round draft choice by the Seattle Mariners. On the eve of this year's selections, following is an alphabetical list including Thornton among the major leaguers who were first-round choices in the amateur baseball draft after playing varsity college basketball:
| First-Round Choice | Position | College(s) | MLB Team Selector | Pick Overall | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Almon | SS | Brown | San Diego Padres | 1st | 1974 |
| Andy Benes | RHP | Evansville | San Diego Padres | 1st | 1988 |
| Tony Clark | 1B | Arizona/San Diego State | Detroit Tigers | 2nd | 1990 |
| Cameron Drew | OF | New Haven CT | Houston Astros | 12th | 1985 |
| Atlee Hammaker | LHP | East Tennessee State | Kansas City Royals | 21st | 1979 |
| Rich Hand | RHP | Puget Sound WA | Cleveland Indians | 1st | 1969*** |
| Jim Lyttle | OF | Florida State | New York Yankees | 10th | 1966 |
| Ben McDonald | RHP | Louisiana State | Baltimore Orioles | 1st | 1989 |
| Dennis Rasmussen | LHP | Creighton | California Angels | 17th | 1980 |
| Jeff Shaw | RHP | Rio Grande OH | Cleveland Indians | 1st | 1986** |
| *Mike Stenhouse | OF-1B | Harvard | Oakland Athletics | 26th | 1979** |
| Matt Thornton | LHP | Grand Valley State MI | Seattle Mariners | 22nd | 1998 |
| Dave Winfield | OF | Minnesota | San Diego Padres | 4th | 1973 |
*Did not sign that year.
**January draft.
***Secondary phase.
NOTE: 1B-OF Rick Leach (13th pick in 1979 by Detroit Tigers) was a JV player for Michigan and OF Ken Singleton (3rd selection in 1967 by New York Mets) was a freshman player for Hofstra.