UWM baseball player Jake Sommers was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 10th round with the 305th overall pick in the 2019 Major League Baseball draft Tuesday evening.
Sommers, a 2019 All-Horizon League second team reliever, is the eighth MLB draft pick from the program in the last five years and is the first-ever picked by the Cardinals.
“Getting drafted was a surreal moment and a dream come true,” Sommers said. “I am so excited to be a Cardinal and see what the future has in store.”
Sommers worked as part of the weekend starting rotation for the majority of the 2018 campaign but transitioned into becoming one of the league’s best relief pitchers his senior season. The Hortonville, Wisconsin, native thrived in his new role, compiling a league-best 10 saves while appearing in 23 games, pitching 30 innings with 37 strikeouts.
ROUND 10 (305th Overall):
JAKE SOMMERS, RHP
School: Wisconsin-Milwaukee#MLBDraft | #STLCards pic.twitter.com/kklIbqiUUS— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) June 4, 2019
“We couldn’t be happier for Jake,” Panthers head coach Scott Doffek said. “He worked his tail off for this opportunity. He is a tremendous athlete with huge upside. I really believe the future is bright for him. Jake is a first-class student-athlete, ballplayer and young man. The Cardinals are getting a good one.”
Sommers will join former Panthers Daulton Varsho, Adam Reuss, Brian Keller and Mitch Ghelfi, all of whom are currently playing in minor league baseball, pursuing their dream of playing in the MLB. Former UWM pitcher Austin Schulfer was drafted last year by the Minnesota Twins and is playing for the team’s Class A club in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
