CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – For the third time in five years, multiple Texas A&M-Corpus Christi pplayers were selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Southpaw Chris Falwell was taken in the 16th round by the San Francisco Giants Saturday afternoon with the 485th overall pick in the draft while shortstop Casey Thomas was picked in the 34th round by the Oakland Athletics.
As the 485th overall pick, Falwell was the highest drafted pitcher from the Southland Conference. The selection is nearly identical to left-hander Trevor Belicek, who went to the Braves with the 480th pick in 2015. Meanwhile, Thomas became the first Islander infielder to be drafted according to Baseball-Reference.com. He was also the first shortstop take from the Southland Conference.
2016 is the second time Falwell has heard his name called in the draft. Last year, he was the 29th round selection of the Pittsburgh Pirates, but turned down the MLB to come to the Island and play for the Islanders.
After a stellar season on the mound in which Falwell racked up a 2.91 ERA, the junior improved his draft stock by 13 rounds. Falwell's strong year on the Island also included the second one-hitter in A&M-Corpus Christi history, matching the aforementioned Belicek. The dominant performance came in the final game of the season as Falwell shutdown Incarnate Word for his first complete game.
Thomas led the Islanders at the plate, hitting .322 on the season. Thomas scored 31 runs while primarily serving as the leadoff man in the Islander order. The senior knocked in 22 runs during the past season.
The shortstop hit .302 in his two years with the Blue and Green. In 2016, he finished top 20 in the country with six triples.
Falwell and Thomas become the eighth and ninth Islanders to be selected in the MLB Draft since 2010. In that same stretch Falwell is the sixth pitcher chosen and the third highest pick in Islander history behind Dan Minor (279) and Belicek (480).
