RENO, Nev. - For the second day in a row the University of Nevada baseball team had two players selected in the 2010 First-Year Major League Baseball Draft. Senior shortstop Kevin Rodland and junior pitcher/designated hitter Brock Stassi were drafted today and joined outfielder Westley Moss and right-handed reliever Tyler Graham who were selected on Tuesday.
From Snohomish, Wash., Rodland was selected in the 34th round as the 1036th pick by the Texas Rangers. The Pack's starting shortstop the last three seasons he batted .256 with 54 runs scored, 14 doubles, four triples, eight home runs, 41 RBI and 16 stolen bases as a senior which were all career highs other than the batting average. In three seasons he hit .260 with 128 runs scored, 39 doubles, eight triples, 14 home runs and 38 stolen bases. The 38 career stolen bases ranks fifth all-time at Nevada.
Stassi, from Yuba City, Calif. was drafted in the 44th round as the 1,320th player by the Cleveland Indians. Although he pitched and hit he was drafted as a left-handed pitcher by the Tribe. He was named the Western Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year and to the All-WAC first-team as a starting pitcher after posting a 7-4 record with a 3.43 ERA and tossed three complete games. The 3.43 ERA led the WAC and his seven wins tied for second. He led the team with 78.2 innings pitched and 67 strikeouts appearing in 13 games with 12 being starts. Twice he was selected as the WAC Pitcher of the Week.
As the team's designated hitter he hit .364 with 45 runs scored, 16 doubles, five triples, nine home runs and 42 RBI which were all career highs. In addition to his WAC pitching honors he was a second-team All-WAC utility selection. He hit two of Nevada's four grand slams on the season. Twice he was earned WAC Hitter of the Week and Collegebaseballinsider.com West Region Player of the Week honors at the same time.
