Four Husker Baseball Players Drafted on First Day

Lincoln -- Four Husker baseball players were selected in the first day of the Major League Baseball draft, Monday, June 5, as seniors Jamal Strong, Adam Shabala, Justin Cowan and junior pitcher Andy Bent were all drafted.

Strong (Altadena, Calif.) , a senior center fielder, was the Huskers highest drafted player, going in the sixth round as the 176th overall pick to the Seattle Mariners. Strong led the Huskers in stolen bases the past two seasons, stealing 34 in 1999 and 35 this past season, for a two-year school record of 69 on 81 attempts. He hit .301 this season after hitting .346 as a junior and scored 125 runs in two seasons, while driving in 61. He also drew 63 walks. In the field he was outstanding, committing just four errors in two seasons.

Shabala (Streator, Ill.) was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 10th round as the 301st overall pick after hitting .338 this past season. Shabala received contact lenses at the mid-point of the season and raised his average from .234 through the first 34 games of the season, to hit a team-best .436 in the final 34 games of the season. The right fielder tied the school single-season record with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage on 121 opportunities. He also led the team with five outfield assists.

Bent (Beatrice, Neb.) was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 16th round as the 490th overall pick. The hard-throwing righty threw just 11 innings for Nebraska, but compiled a 3.27 earned-run average and a perfect 2-0 record.

Cowan (Tumwater, Wash.), a senior catcher and third-team All-American, was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 20th round as the 584th overall pick. Cowan, one of 10 semifinalists for the Johnny Bench Award, given to the nation's top collegiate catcher, led the Huskers with a .371 average and led the Big 12 Conference in hits (89), doubles (23), RBI (74) and finished third in total bases (142). He holds the school's two-year record for doubles, cranking out 44, including 23 this season.

NU football/baseball recruit Ross Pilkington, a 6-1, 185 wide receiver from Loveland, Colo., was drafted by the Rockies in the 20th round as the 587th overall pick. Pilkington signed a letter of intent to play football for the Huskers next year.

Husker baseball signee Joel Hanrahan, a right-handed pitcher from Norwalk, Iowa, was drafted in the second round by the Los Angeles Dodgers as the 57th overall pick.