Shore Grads Mark McCoy, Jake Kalish Selected by Kansas City Royals in MLB Draft
A pair of former star left-handers from the Shore Conference, Rutgers pitcher Mark McCoy and George Mason pitcher Jake Kalish, were both snapped up by the reigning American League champion Kansas City Royals in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Wednesday.
McCoy, a former Barnegat star, was selected in the 29th round as the 879th overall selection coming off a junior season in which he went 2-8 with a 5.71 ERA as a starter for the Scarlet Knights, striking out 46 in 63 innings. McCoy, who is the son of Barnegat head coach Dan McCoy, began his career at Wake Forest before transferring to Rutgers. This is the second time he has been drafted, as he was taken in the 26th round out of Barnegat by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2012 before deciding to pitch in college.
Kalish is a former Red Bank Regional star who went 5-6 with a 3.44 ERA in 13 starts, striking out 77 in 88 2/3 innings this season for George Mason as a fifth-year senior. He was drafted in the 32nd round by the Royals. Kalish is the second member of his family to play professional baseball as his older brother, Ryan, is a former Red Bank Catholic star who was drafted in the ninth round by the Boston Red Sox in 2006 and most recently played for the Chicago Cubs.
Kalish and McCoy were the only Shore Conference graduates to be selected in this year's draft, and no current high school seniors from the Shore were taken.