No. 26 Kent State Baseball Has Four Players Selected On Second Day Of MLB First-Year Player Draft
SEACAUCUS, N.J. -- Four members of the No. 26-ranked Kent State baseball were selected today (June 7) on the second day of the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft.
Junior right-handed closer Kyle McMillen (North Canton, Ohio) was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the fourth round with the 141st pick, junior third baseman Travis Shaw (Washington Court House, Ohio) was taken by the Boston Red Sox in the ninth round with the 292nd pick, senior left-handed starting pitcher Kyle Hallock (Sandusky, Oho) was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 10th round with the 310th pick and senior right fielder Ben Klafczynski (Granger Township, Ohio) was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 20th round with the 609th pick.
The quartet joins redshirt junior left-handed starting pitcher Andrew Chafin (Sandusky, Ohio) who was taken by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the compensatory first round with the 43rd pick Tuesday (June 6) as Golden Flashes who have been drafted into professional baseball in 2011 and runs Kent State's all-time total of draft selections to 80.
All five helped lead Kent State to Mid-American Conference regular season and tournament championships as well as a No. 3-seed in the 2011 NCAA Championship Austin Regional and the school's second-ever berth in the regional final. The Flashes became the first squad to win three straight MAC Tournament crowns and first since 2005 to win the conference's regular season and tournament titles in the same season. Kent State's mark of 45-17 matched the 1992 squad for most victories in program history.
McMillen set both the school and MAC single-season saves record with 18 and tied for the nation's lead in saves in 2011. On the same day he was drafted, the Louisville Slugger Third Team All-America honoree was named one of five finalists for the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year award. The 2011 First Team All-MAC pick finishes his career with 22 saves, which is tied for third-most in school history. The son of Scott and Tawnia McMillen came to Kent State by way Archbishop Hoban High School.
Shaw finished the 2011 campaign second on the team in slugging percentage (.553), third in on-base percentage (.401), second in runs scored (48), tied for second in hits (75), third in RBIs (51), third in doubles (14) and first in home runs (14). The First Team All-MAC pick's home run total tied for 26th in the nation and led the MAC. His 36 career home runs rank as the ninth most in school history. The son of Jeff and Julie Shaw attended Washington Court House High School prior to his arrival at Kent State.
Hallock closes his career out with the second-most career strikeouts (237) in school history. He also ranks third in career innings pitched (297.0), fifth in career pitching wins (22) and seventh in career pitching appearances (65). He was named the 2011 MAC Pitcher of the Year, becoming the ninth Kent State arm to garner such distinction. He finished his senior campaign with a 10-4 record, tying for the second-most wins in a single season in Kent State history. Hallock's 106.1 innings pitched and 88 strikeouts rank second and tied for sixth, respectively, in a single-season for the Golden Flashes while his ERA of 1.95 is the 10th-best in a single season in school history. He chose to return to Kent State for his senior campaign after being picked by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 49th round of the 2010 draft and was appointed as one of Kent State's co-captains for the 2011 season. The son of Dan and Jennifer Hallock helped guide Perkins High School to an Ohio state final four berth as a senior.
Klafczynski, wraps up his four-year career as one of the most prolific hitters in school history. He finishes as the career leader in total bases (520) and runs scored (211), second in at-bats (891), hits (312), doubles (79) and RBIs (197) and eighth in home runs (37). He was a First Team All-MAC pick in 2011, hitting a team-best .368 with a team-high 91 hits, 19 doubles and 57 RBIs. He began his career by being named a Collegiate Baseball All-America selection and closed it by being named to the 2011 NCAA Austin All-Regional Team after batting .375 with six hits – including two doubles -- with three RBIs during Kent State's postseason run which included a 7-5 victory over No. 5 Texas on its home field in the regional's winner's bracket final. The son of Ray and Elaine was a four-year starter at Medina Highland High School and helped Hornets earn a state regional final berth in 2007.
