SECAUCUS, N.J. – Saint Joseph's junior catcher Brian O'Keefe was selected in the seventh round of the 2014 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Friday afternoon. The St. Louis Cardinals selected O'Keefe with the 225th overall selection.
O'Keefe is the highest draft pick to come out of Saint Joseph's since Jamie Moyer was chosen in the sixth round by the Chicago Cubs in 1984.
"It has been a dream of mine to play professional baseball, and hopefully make it to the Major Leagues, for my entire life," O'Keefe said. "My time at Saint Joseph's helped me develop into the man I want to become, and I will never forget that. I am grateful and thankful for everything and everyone at SJU."
“Today is a great day for our program, and we couldn't be happier for Brian,” said SJU head coach Fritz Hamburg. “I know this has been a dream of his; even in the recruiting process, we talked about it, and we are excited that his dream became a reality this afternoon.”
O'Keefe earned First Team All-Atlantic 10 and Atlantic 10 All-Championship honors this season a year after being named to the All-Conference Second Team. He has also been named to the Philadelphia All-Big 5 Team in each of his three seasons on Hawk Hill. This year, he was one of 15 semifinalists for the Johnny Bench Award, given to the nation's top collegiate catcher.
The Albany, New York, native led the Atlantic 10 with 58 runs scored, tying a single-season school record and ranking fourth in all of Division I in runs per game. He finished the season in the top nine in the conference in average (.350, seventh), slugging (.519, sixth), on-base percentage (.423, ninth), hits (75, third), RBI (43, sixth), home runs (7, tied for second), and total bases (111, second).
The junior backstop led the Hawks in runs scored, hits, and home runs while throwing out over 44% of runners attempting to steal. He earned a pair of Atlantic 10 and Big 5 Baseball Player of the Week honors as well.
O'Keefe's selection marks the first time that a Hawk has been selected in the First-Year Player Draft in consecutive seasons since the 1993 and 1994 drafts, when Jason Hamilton and Chuck Malloy were selected. A year ago, pitcher Jimmy Yacabonis was chosen by the Baltimore Orioles in the 13th round.
