CHICAGO – UIC's
Nate Peterson became the 28th player in program history to be drafted in the MLB First-Year Player Draft on Monday, July 18, as the left-hander was selected in the eighth round (pick 252) by the Milwaukee Brewers.
"I couldn't be more excited for Nate," said UIC head coach
Sean McDermott. "He was a good teammate and will be missed in our program. He has worked really hard to put himself in this position. I am proud of Nate and look forward to watching him grow in the Brewers system."
A native of Lakeville, Minn., Peterson becomes the first player in UIC history to be drafted by the Brewers organization. Former catcher Nathan Orf was signed by Milwaukee as an amateur free agent in 2013. He made his MLB debut with the Brewers in 2018. The Flames have now had at least one player selected in seven of the last nine drafts.
Peterson shined in his lone season with the Flames, becoming just the second player in program history to record over 100 strikeouts in a single season with his team-leading 102 punchouts. In his UIC debut, Peterson struck out a season-high 13 batters in UIC's win over New Mexico State. The 13 strikeouts are tied for the sixth-most strikeouts in UIC single-game history.
The southpaw would add 11 more strikeouts in a win over Valparaiso on April 1, marking just the seventh time in program history that a player had two or more games with 11+ strikeouts, and just the third time a pitcher has accomplished the feat in the same season.
Peterson ended his season leading the conference in strikeouts and strikeout-to-walk ratio, ranked second in fewest walks per nine innings and third in complete games en route to securing First Team All-League honors.
