University of Olivet’s Bryan Carney selected in 7th round by Houston Astros
· Yahoo Sports
OLIVET, Mich. (WLNS) — Bryan Carney was visiting his sister in Nashville when he heard his name called by the Houston Astros in the seventh round as the 211th pick. The right-handed pitcher is the only Division 3 player drafted in this year’s MLB draft. Carney is also the second player from Olivet to ever be drafted.
“The moment — I was a little shell shocked if I’m being honest,” said Carney. “It was crazy because me personally I was shocked, I was like oh my goodness, this just happened, while on the other hand my sister just woke up the whole apartment complex. It was two completely different reactions. Everyone was super happy for me and I was calling people immediately after. Like I said it was awesome and a whirlwind of emotions kinda in that moment.”
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Carney was Olivet’s ace this past season and led all Division 3 pitchers with 122 strikeouts and finished the season with a 1.35 ERA. He ranked second nationally among pitchers who threw at least 50 innings. Carney credits Olivet head coach Santiago Mendez as well as the rest of the staff for helping him get to this moment.
“[Coach Mendez has] been great to me and he’s always had faith in me from the beginning since I got there,” Carney said. “He’s put me in situations that I wasn’t sure I’d be in, even getting into college, and even to this day, never doubted me in one instance and always trusted my judgement. So I appreciate all that he’s done for me. As well as working with me to improve my game.”
The Grosse Point Woods native also has a very close relationship with his parents and recognizes them as a key part of his journey.
“My parents have been extremely supportive of me and throughout my whole life, not just college career—high school, little league, whatever it may be, they’ve been great to me,” he said. “I’m grateful for them, as well as my sister, she’s been super supportive. Everyone in my family, they’re cheering me on every game. My dad never missed a single college appearance, he was at every game I pitched. I felt like people believed in me so that is a lot easier when you know other people have that confidence in you, it’s easier to have confidence in yourself.”
Carney knows it’s a huge honor to be the only DIII player drafted this year, but he also wants other Division 3 athletes to know that there is always a possibility of getting to the professional level.
“If you have the capability to play at the next level they’ll find you,” Carney said. “It may take a little longer — in that sense than if you were at power 4, Division 1, Division 2 even, NAIA — they will find you in that sense. You have a little disadvantage, but also there’s plenty of you know, teams and scouts out there that will find you if they believe you have what it takes.”
Carney is set to head down to Houston and begin his career in the MLB.
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