Randy Gress Selected By Atlanta Braves In 2007 Major League Baseball Draft
6/8/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Quinnipiac University senior Randy Gress (Shelton, Conn.) was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Gress was taken by the Braves in the 18th round with the 558th overall pick. The last Quinnipiac baseball player to be drafted was Pat Egan when he was taken in the 36th round by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2006 draft. Egan signed a minor-league contract with the Orioles last week.
his season, Gress led the Bobcats in homeruns (12) and runs scored (47) while ranking second in slugging percentage (.586) and runs batted in (45). Gress finished the year with a .297 (55-185) average with 12 doubles and one triple. He was named the Akadema/NEC Player of the Week on the final day of the regular season after driving in eight runs while scoring eight more for the week as Quinnipiac clinched a share of the NEC title and the #1 seed in the NEC Tournament.
"I can't even explain how I feel right now." Gress said, "It's a dream come true. It's something I've worked hard for, and it really is a great feeling. I really can't wait to get started. I decided that I wasn't going to watch the draft and drive myself crazy. I was about to pick up the phone and call home to see what round the draft was in and Pat Egan called me. He said, `You just got drafted'. It was an unbelievable feeling."
For the year, Gress tied for the NEC lead with 12 homeruns while
also ranking in the top five in the conference in slugging
percentage and runs scored on his way to being selected to the
All-NEC First-Team. Gress led the conference in 2006 with 11
homeruns while also leading the team with 43 RBI. The power hitting
middle infielder currently ranks 5th in career homeruns (28), 7th
in career RBI (119), 10th in career doubles (36) and 8th in career
hits (185). Last season, Gress was named to the All-NEC Second
Team.
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Gress will report early next week to the Braves' rookie camp at the Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla. From there, Gress will head to Danville, Va. to join the Danville Braves. The Danville Braves are a short-season rookie league team that is set to start play on June 19th.
