Baseball 6/7/2014 7:46:00 PM

Nolan of OCU picked in MLB Draft

6-foot-7 junior left-hander gets chosen in 18th round by Athletics

Michael Nolan ranked 24th in the NAIA at 9.95 strikeouts per nine innings in 2014.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University's Michael Nolan became an 18th-round draft choice of the Oakland Athletics on Saturday in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
The A's made Nolan the 552nd overall selection in the draft. Nolan joined Chris Pike and Brad Wieck as Stars pitchers taken in the 2014 MLB Draft.
Nolan, a junior left-hander from Yonkers, N.Y., posted a 5-3 record, 3.32 earned run average, four complete games, a shutout and 84 strikeouts in 76 innings pitched for OCU this year.
"He is a left-handed power pitcher who throws strikes," OCU coach Denney Crabaugh said. "His ball has movement. He will be really tough. He has the ability to shut down offenses."
On Feb. 28, Nolan shut out USAO on four hits in seven innings with 11 strikeouts in Chickasha, Okla. Nolan accumulated 11 strikeouts in seven innings March 14 at Southwestern Christian and fanned a season-high 13 in 7.1 innings vs. Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) on April 12.
Oklahoma City University has had 70 MLB draftees and 147 former players who turned professional. OCU entered the season with the most victories in college baseball since 1991.
The Stars ranked fourth in the NAIA this year with 494 batters struck out with those three pitchers. The New York Mets scooped up Wieck with the 205th overall choice in the seventh round, while the Tampa Bay Rays tabbed Pike with the 277th pick in the ninth round.
Oklahoma City went 35-19 and reached the SAC Tournament title game and the NAIA Championship Opening Round Jackson Bracket.

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