CHICAGO – For the first time in program history two UIC baseball standouts were selected in the top 10 rounds of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Senior
Connor Ryan was chosen by the Cincinnati Reds Tuesday afternoon, while junior
Rob Calabrese was called by the San Francisco Giants.
Ryan was the first UIC player to hear his name called Tuesday afternoon when the Cincinnati Reds selected the senior in the eighth round with the 227
th overall pick. That makes the right-hander the highest UIC pick since Curtis Granderson was tabbed in the third round (80
th overall) by the Detroit Tigers in 2002. He is the second player in program history to be chosen by the Reds, joining catcher Kevin Coddington (2008).
The Homer Glen, Ill., native appeared in 22 games out of the bullpen in 2017 with a 3.10 ERA to go along with three wins and a save. He threw 29.0 innings in relief and struck out 9.3 batters per 9.0 innings pitched with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 6-to-1.
The right-handed pitcher was named Horizon League Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 26 after earning a win and a save with 3.1 scoreless innings pitched in two outing at then-No. 7 Vanderbilt. Ryan helped the Flames win the road series against the perennially strong SEC program. It marked the first time that UIC took a series from a ranked opponent on the road since 2007 when they won two-of-three over No. 19 Tennessee.
Ryan was boon out of the bullpen during the Flames' NCAA Tournament run in Hattiesburg, Miss., earlier this month. The reliever pitched in both games out of the bullpen with 3.2 scoreless innings for UIC. He did not allow a hit in 2.1 IP against 10
th-ranked Southern Miss on June 2, and only two in 1.1 IP against No. 17 Mississippi State on June 4.
For his career, Ryan made 50 appearances for the Flames with 17 starts. He pitched 123.0 innings and posted a 3.88 ERA. He struck out 93 and held opponents to a batting average of .262.
Calabrese was selected by the Giants in the 10
th round with pick No. 306 overall. He becomes the fourth catcher in program history to hear his name called on Draft Day, joining Coddington, Justin Johnson (Baltimore - 2006), and Bernard Pedersoll (Detroit, 1997). He is the first player in UIC history to be chosen by San Francisco's National League club.
The catcher, who hails from Staten Island, N.Y., was a reliable force in the lineup and behind the plate for the Flames in 2017. He batted a team-best .353 with 23 doubles, eight home runs and 53 RBI in 56 games for UIC. His 23 doubles rank 14
th in the NCAA and tied for third on the program's single-season leaderboard with Granderson. Calabrese hit safely in a career-high 16 consecutive games this spring and reached base safely in 42 straight games between Feb. 25-May 14 (2). Earlier this year, he was named the Horizon League Player of the Year and a
Collegiate Baseball Second Team All-American. Calabrese was also named to the NCAA Championship Hattiesburg All-Regional Team after driving in five runs in two games with a grand slam against Southern Miss.
Behind the plate, Calabrese started 52 of UIC's 56 games in 2017. He helped the pitching staff produce the best ERA in program history (2.65), and one that ranks second in the NCAA. The team also allowed the fewest runs (174) and earned runs (146) ever. Finally, the Flames set the program record for most shutouts in a season with 11, and the team's fielding percentage, .984, is the best in the country in 2017.
For his career, Calabrese is batting .294 through three seasons in a UIC uniform. He has posted 10 home runs, two triples, 26 doubles and 79 RBI. The backstop has played in 122 games and started 105 of those contests.
UIC has had at least one player selected in the MLB Draft every year since 2013. Under the tutelage of head coach
Mike Dee, a total of 11 student-athletes have heard their names called by Major League Baseball franchises, beginning in 2002 when Granderson was selected in the third round by the Detroit Tigers. Ryan and Calabrese are the 21
st and 22
nd MLB draftees in UIC history.
The 2017 MLB Draft resumes on Wednesday, June 14 at 11 a.m. CT. Live coverage of day three, which features rounds 11-40, can be viewed below, courtesy of MLB.com:
