CHICAGO – Following a decorated tenure on the near west side of Chicago, UIC senior outfielder Scott Ota will have the opportunity to continue his baseball career at the professional level with the New York Mets. The club selected Ota with the 298^th overall pick in the 10^th round of the 2019 Major League Baseball Draft.

Ota is the 42^nd player who will join the professional ranks since UIC head coach Mike Dee began at the school in 1999. He is the first to be drafted by the Mets. Since arriving in Chicago in 2016, the Foster City, Calif., native played with 14 Flames who have since embarked upon professional careers. Ota is the sixth UIC player since 2016 to be chosen in the first 10 rounds.

The outfielder helped UIC reach two NCAA Tournaments during his collegiate career, including a trip last week to the NCAA Louisville Regional. In four career NCAA postseason games against Southern Miss, Mississippi State, Louisville and Indiana, Ota batted .333 with four extra-base hits, two RBI, four runs and 12 total bases.

Ota became UIC's all-time leader in RBI during the Horizon League Championship and he added to the total with two more in Louisville to finish his career with 163. He played in 206 games from 2016-19 and started 198 times. He finished second in career home runs (33), triples (16), and at-bats (763), tied for fifth in hits (230), eighth in doubles (43), and ninth in runs (155).

Through the end of UIC's season, Ota ranks seventh in the NCAA in slugging percentage with a mark of .749. He belted 20 home runs this spring, which were the most for any UIC player in a single season, and the most for any Horizon League player since 2000. His 64 RBI were tied for tied for the third-most by a UIC player in a single season. His 20 home runs rank 14^th in the country and his 64 RBI rank 32^nd. He batted a team-high .357 in 2019.

Ota was named to the All-Horizon League Second Team and All-Academic Team this spring. He also earned a place on the conference's All-Tournament Team after helping the Flames go unbeaten in the double-elimination event with two wins against Milwaukee and one against regular-season champion Wright State.

Earlier in the draft, the Chicago Cubs selected right-handed pitcher Tyler Schlaffer from Homewood Flossmoor High School in south suburban Flossmoor, Ill. Schlaffer was chosen with the 282^nd overall pick in the ninth round. In November, Schlaffer signed a National Letter of Intent to enroll at UIC in the fall and play collegiately for the Flames.

The 2019 MLB Draft resumes Wednesday, June 5 at 11 a.m. CT. Click here for MLB Draft Central.