Shank second-ever Raven selected in as many years in baseball draft

RINDGE, N.H. (June 5, 2002) - Franklin Pierce junior right-hander Chris Shank (Westminster, Mass./Oakmont Regional) was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 23rd round (698 overall) of the 2002 Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft this afternoon.

Shank, the 26th pick in the first round of day two of the MLB Draft, becomes just the second player in program history to be drafted by a Major League organization. He joins former teammate Justin Blood, who was picked by the Seattle Mariners in the ninth round of the 2001 MLB Draft.

"I'm happy for Chris," said FP Head Coach Jayson King. "He deserves what he got after working hard this spring and producing a great season which put him in a good position for the draft today. It's great for the program to have had a player drafted two straight years as well and it couldn't have happened to two better guys."

After spending all of day one and the first ten minutes of day two listening to MLB.com's live coverage of the draft online, Shank's computer froze midway through the 23rd round. It was moments later that Shank got the call from Tom Clark, Oakland's regional scout, at 12:20 p.m.

"He asked me 'Do you still want to play pro ball?' and I said, 'Yes.,' said Shank. "Then he said, 'I just want you to know that we took you in the 23rd round.'"

Shank earned first team All-Region, All-New England and All-Northeast-10 Conference honors this spring after posting a 9-2 record with a 2.60 ERA, 108 strikeouts and just 25 walks in 93.1 innings of work. He also earned NE-10 Pitcher of the Year accolades and fired the first season-opening no-hitter in program history this spring. Shank's 20 career wins in tops in program history and he matched Blood's career strikeout record of 235.

"Oakland is a good club and it's a good program," said Shank. "This is thrilling. They are my new favorite team. To go in the top half of the draft, I feel good about it. I'm not disappointed at all. This is a dream come true and well worth the wait. Baseball-related, this is the best day of my life. I'm lost for words. It's unreal."

Shank, who will meet with Clark over the weekend, will likely be assigned to the A's short-season Class A team in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he will actually join Blood in the Northwest League. Blood was reassigned to the Everett (Wash.) AquaSox two weeks ago.

"I'm going to (sign)," continued Shank. "Just to get in the organization is great. Now I've got to prove myself."

Shank and Blood have book ended a remarkable year for former FP student-athletes as they were drafted by Major League Baseball franchises. Former women's soccer All-American Minna Mustonen was a first round draft pick of the New York Power in February's WUSA Draft. Left-hander John Learson, a former teammate of Blood and Shank is currently with the Rockford RiverHawks of the Frontier League.