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San Diego State's Stephen Strasburg Selected No. 1 in Major League Baseball Draft
Strasburg becomes third MWC student-athlete to be picked first in professional draft
June 9, 2009 COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -¬ The Mountain West Conference recognized another historic milestone as San Diego State junior right-handed pitcher Stephen Strasburg was selected by the Washington Nationals as the No. 1 pick in the Major League Baseball Draft today. With his selection, Strasburg becomes the first MWC baseball student-athlete to be picked first in the draft. He is also the third overall student-athlete from the league to be selected first in a professional sports draft, following former Utah quarterback Alex Smith (San Francisco 49ers) and former men's basketball center Andrew Bogut (Milwaukee Bucks), who were both chosen first in the 2005 NFL Draft and 2005 NBA Draft, respectively. Strasburg compiled a 13-1 record with a 1.32 earned run average this season, while leading the nation in strikeouts (195) and strikeouts per nine innings (16.1) as San Diego State advanced to the NCAA Regionals for the first time since 1991. Strasburg was also second nationally in ERA and hits per nine innings (5.37), and third in wins (13). On the season, the San Diego, Calif., native, was named 2008 USA Baseball Player of the Year, First-Team Louisville Slugger All-American, Louisville Slugger National Player of the Year, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) District IX Player of the Year and 2009 Ping! Baseball First-Team All-American. He is also a finalist for the 2009 Golden Spikes Award and a semifinalist for the 2009 Dick Howser Trophy. Strasburg finished his collegiate career as the Conference's all-time leader in ERA (1.59), opponent batting average (.171), shutouts (4), strikeouts (375) and strikeouts per nine innings (13.87), while tying for second in career wins (22). Strasburg's selection as the top MLB pick completed a historic 10th anniversary year for the Mountain West Conference. In baseball, this season saw three teams ranked in the top 25 of the national polls in the same week for the first time in league history, and a record three teams earning invitations to the NCAA Baseball Championship. Other league accomplishments during the 2008-09 campaign saw the MWC become the first non-automatic qualifying conference in the BCS era to have three football teams ranked in the top-25 of the final Associated Press and USA Today/Coaches polls, as well as having two teams finish in the top 10. Other Conference achievements include the second men's basketball NIT Semifinal appearance in three years (San Diego State) and three individual national champions in indoor track and field. Most notably, Utah became the first team from a non-automatic-qualifying conference to win its second BCS bowl game with a 31-17 win over Alabama in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. The Utes were also the only undefeated Football Bowl Subdivision team in 2008 and the first team in the BCS era to have two undefeated seasons after finishing 13-0 in 2008.
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