Phillies draft pick chooses Alvernia
Alvernia earned an offseason victory a few weeks ago when the
Philadelphia Phillies final draft pick chose to take the mound for
the Crusaders instead of sign a professional contract.
Recent Ocean City High School graduate Kolya Stephenson, the
1,530th and final selection in the Major League Baseball First-Year
Draft, had a dream come true when the Phillies called to say they
had selected him. Then came decision time. Stick with the
commitment to Alvernia coach Yogi Lutz that he made a month earlier
or ink a deal with his favorite professional team.
| Kolya Stephenson, the last pick in the Major League
Baseball draft, hopes to sharpen his skills in
Reading. Alvernia athletics photo |
Stephenson indicated to an MLB.com reporter who called for a
story on the last man taken that he would likely take a few months
to decide, but needed less than a week to come up with his
answer.
“I talked with my parents a lot about it and decided to go
to Alvernia to get an education,” said Stephenson in another
phone interview from home. “I want to build up and get
stronger through college and see what happens after
that.”
Stephenson will pursue a degree in Sport Management from Alvernia
and will join a record-setting staff that led the Crusaders to
within one win of making the Division III championship round this
past May.
He will also enter a program with a successful track record of
grooming professional talent. The Crusaders currently have a pair
of alums playing at the AAA level. Lutz's son Zach was a 5th round
selection of the New York Mets in '07 and is currently playing for
the Buffalo Bison. Anthony Recker was taken in the 18th round by
the Oakland A's in '05 and is the starting catcher for the
Sacramento River Cats. Both players are among their respective
league leaders in batting hitting over .300.
Three of the nine former Crusaders to sign professional deals were
pitchers including former Astros ace Wade Miller and Todd Meyer, a
free agent signee with the Montreal Expos in 2002.
Stephenson hopes his time with the Crusaders' coaching staff can
put him on a similar track.
“My strengths are that I hit my spots,” said
Stephenson. “I don't throw the hardest (between 83-85 mph) so
that's the key for me.”
Lutz said the potential is there for Stephenson to compare to
current MAC Commonwealth Pitcher of the Year, Andrew Kirk.
“Kirk was similar as a freshman,” said Lutz,
“but with a little more consistent velocity.”
Kirk, a third team All-American can push it into the low 90s now
as a junior.
“If [Stephenson] can master three pitches like Kirk he has a
chance to be very good,” said Lutz. “He certainly has
good size (6-1, 195 lbs.) which we believe can help improve his
velocity with continued work. Being around the game at the
professional level he sees how extremely hard pitchers have to work
on off days and how much preparation goes into being a pitcher at a
high level.”
Stephenson has gotten that experience through trips to the
ballpark with his father, the manager of video production for the
Phillies. He has gleaned some knowledge from former Phillie Larry
Andersen, now a color commentator for radio broadcasts.
“He showed me some different grips for the slider,”
said Stephenson of his time with Andersen. “He just loves to
talk about baseball and pitching in particular.”
Stephenson plans on pitching for a pair of teams this summer, the
Northfield Cardinals of the Atlantic County Baseball League and
Southern Cape.
He'll join his new team when he hits campus for orientation the
end of August.
