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Senior Jack Zoellner attempts to catch a ball in first place during a match against Missouri on April 13, 2017. Zoellner is one of the four baseball draftees.
Senior Jack Zoellner attempts to catch a ball in first place during a match against Missouri on April 13, 2017. Zoellner is one of the four baseball draftees.

Baseball: Four Lobos selected in Major League Baseball draft

The New Mexico baseball team did not earn a trip to the College World Series this season, but four Lobo players fulfilled what was surely a lifelong dream after being selected in the Major League Baseball draft last week.

Head coach Ray Birmingham said he has had approximately 150 players become professionals throughout his coaching career, and he is extremely happy for each of them.

Birmingham said he considers himself to be an old-school coach and wants to make sure his players are good students and good people, listing those qualities first before discussing the importance of what is done on the baseball field.

“We want them to get what they want (and need) to make a better life — a degree — and hopefully get a shot at their dream job of being a professional baseball player,” Birmingham said. “That has happened for a lot of Lobos over the last 10 years.”

The most recent Lobos to join that group are pitcher/outfielder Luis Gonzalez, first baseman Jack Zoellner, pitcher Tyler Stevens and third baseman Carl Stajduhar.

Gonzalez was drafted 87th overall in the third round of the draft by the Chicago White Sox. The Philadelphia Phillies selected Zoellner in the 9th round with the 263rd pick.

Birmingham said the first baseman being selected so early, despite suffering a broken hand toward the end of the season, says a lot.

Stevens and Stajduhar both went in the 18th round, going to the Los Angeles Angels and New York Mets, respectively.

There have been 88 Lobos selected in the MLB draft, and 34 of those players have come under Birmingham’s 10-year tenure at the helm, a release said.

Birmingham said baseball differs from other college-level sports, because a school could feasibly miss out on a recruit due to the draft. The head coach said UNM recently lost someone who had committed to the program after being drafted.

The vast majority of student-athletes in most of the collegiate sports stay for four years. But Birmingham said if a player develops quickly in baseball, it becomes more likely that the time could be cut down to just three years.

Of the four draftees, only Zoellner was a senior. Birmingham said Zoellner is already a UNM graduate, but the other three underclassmen will likely come back to finish their degree during the off-season.

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So many players consistently becoming draft selections over the years has likely aided in the recruiting process. Birmingham seemed to take great pride in the ability he and his staff have in developing players. He said New Mexico has earned a reputation as a place that players come to in order to become great hitters.

“A lot of kids want to go to the big conferences, but there are kids that say, ‘If you really want to learn how to hit, go to New Mexico,’” the head coach said. “That’s become a mantra...three of these draftees are hitters.”

Birmingham said one thing that he would want people to know about is the connection that former Lobo players keep with UNM, even after they hit Major League status.

“You can see their big-league jersey on, but they have a University of New Mexico baseball T-shirt on underneath that jersey almost every game they play,” he said. “They are proud to represent us.”

Birmingham said he is a New Mexican and everything he tries to accomplish is done with the goal of making our state proud.

Robert Maler is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers football and men’s and women’s tennis. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @robert_maler.

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