With four rounds remaining in the 52-round Major League Baseball Draft that concluded Tuesday, twelve Ivy Leaguers had been selected. None were from Penn.
But the Cleveland Indians changed that fact when they made Quakers junior right-handed pitcher Brian Winings the 1420th overall selection.
Penn coach Bob Seddon had thought Winings would be chosen in the late-20 to mid-30 rounds, likely by the New York Mets, who had expressed strong interest in the Reston, Va. native.
According to Seddon, the 6'2" 195-pound "probably had higher stock before [this past] season started."
Indeed, in 2003, Winings recorded the best season of his Penn career. He was named first team All-Ivy League and he led the Ancient Eight in saves with eight, breaking both the Quakers' team and individual save records.
Following his impressive 2003 campaign, he spent the summer playing for the Vienna Mustangs, where he was named a Clark Griffith All-Star. He posted a 0.00 Earned Run Average in 18 appearances and tied a league record with 10 saves.
In 2004, however, Winings struggled in his transition to starting pitcher for the Red and Blue. In 11 appearances, he recorded a 7.42 ERA and only two victories.
But the Thomas Jefferson High School graduate ranked second on the Penn team in opposing batting average (.295), innings pitched (43.1), strikeouts (31), and batters struck out looking (six), while also setting career highs in innings and strikeouts.
According to scouting reports from MLB.com's Draft Tracker, Winings is a power pitcher with a muscular build, a most importantly, a delivery.
Wining's has the type of arm that could learn the slider, and he has action on all of his pitches.
While being drafted is certainly an honor for Winings, Seddon hopes that the right-handed pitcher will return to Penn next season for his senior year.
"We will have our whole pitching staff returning, unless [Winings] signs a contract," he said.
Seddon presented former Penn pitcher Russ Brocato - who was selected in the 29th round last year by the Baltimore Orioles and opted to forego his senior year at Penn to sign a contract with the Orioles - as having been in a similar situation to Winings. He believes Brocato would have benefited from staying for his senior year.
Indeed, after an impressive showing in the Gulf Coast League - in which he posted a 2.41 ERA in 13 games - Brocato cooled off and, as of April 2, he was placed in the Orioles' extended Spring Training list rather than assigned to a specific minor league team.
Brocato was one of three Quakers selected last year.
According to Seddon, however, the player who "is doing the best of our kids" is Penn graduate Nick Italiano, who was not drafted last year but signed a contract with the Phillies a week later.
He batted .349 with 21 Runs Batted In for the Gulf Coast Phillies, which earned him a promotion to the Lakewood Blueclaws (A).
Currently, Italiano plays for the Clearwater Threshers (A), where he is batting .333.
While Winings was the last Ivy League player selected in the draft, Princeton junior B.J. Szymanski was the first, drafted 48th overall by the Cincinnati Reds.
Szymanski was chosen the highest of any Tiger in the program's history, surpassing former teammate Thomas Pauly by three spots.
This past season, Szymanski led the Tigers in nearly all offensive categories, including batting average (.362), hits (64) and RBIs (48).
Seddon was not surprised Szymanski was chosen so early in the draft. In fact, he thought the Princeton outfielder would be selected in the first round, not the second.
"He's a finely-tuned player," Seddon said. "He's a switch hitter, he can run, he can throw, he can pretty much do it all."
Seddon noted that from his experience, Szymanski has trouble with the curveball on the right side.
The second Ivy Leaguer selected in the draft was also from Princeton: Ross Ohelndorf. He finished the season with a 7-3 record and a 3.46 ERA.
"He lost a little bit toward the end of the year, but he pitched well against Virginia [in the NCAA Regionals]," Seddon said.
Other notable Ivy League selections include Columbia centerfielder Fernando Perez, chosen in the seventh round by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Dartmouth shortstop Ed Lucas, an eighth round pick by the Kansas City Royals.
Lucas earned 2004 Ivy League Player of the Year honors after batting .405.
Finally, Princeton junior outfielder Will Venable was chosen in the 15th round by the Baltimore Orioles.
Venable, who also starts for the Tigers basketball team, hit .356 last season with 13 stolen bases.
