June 6, 2006

BERKELEY, CALIF. - University of California junior right-hander Brandon Morrow became the highest draft pick in Golden Bear baseball history when he was selected in the first round by the Seattle Mariners, and was the fifth pick overall, during the opening day of the 2006 Major League First-Year Player Draft. Morrow now heads the Cal list of draftees that includes shortstop/outfielder Ted Parks, who was the 16th pick overall by the Baltimore Orioles in 1966, the second year of the Major League Amateur Draft, and Conor Jackson, who was the 19th pick overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks, during the 2003 draft.

The only players selected in front of Morrow, a 6-3, 190-pounder from Rohnert Park, Calif., were top pick Luke Hochever (formerly of Tennessee) to the Kansas City Royals, No. 2 pick Greg Reynolds (Stanford) to the Colorado Rockies, No. 3 pick Evan Longoria (Long Beach State) to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and No. 4 pick Brad Lincoln (Houston) to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Recently named first-team All-Pac-10, Morrow is also one of 10 semifinalists for the Roger Clemens Award as the nation's top collegiate pitcher. He had an outstanding 2006 season, owning a 7-4 record and is currently second in the Pac-10 with a 2.05 ERA. He is also sixth in the conference with 97 strikeouts (10th on Cal's single-season strikeout list) in 96.7 innings (10th in the Pac-10), and opponents batted .211 against him (third in the Pac-10). Morrow had complete games at UNLV and Stanford, and only allowed 39 walks and 72 hits in his 96.7 innings. He notched wins over UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, UNLV, Pacific, Washington, Arizona and Washington State.

Morrow was selected the National Pitcher of the Week by Collegiate Baseball and Rosenblatt.com when he allowed no hits in 6.3 innings with 12 strikeouts and only one walk in the Feb. 3 season-opener at UC Irvine. A hard-throwing right-hander with a fastball in the high 90s, Morrow was selected a third-team preseason All-American after an outstanding 2005 summer in the prestigious Cape Cod League. He was a Cape Cod League All-Star for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, striking out 24 batters in 14.7 innings with a 1.84 ERA and three saves. Morrow was also picked as the fifth-best professional prospect out of the Cape Cod League by Baseball America.

Another Cal player selected in day one of the professional draft was junior center fielder Brennan Boesch, who was picked in the third round by the Detroit Tigers. Boesch, a first-team preseason All-American, finished the 2006 campaign batting .313 with 11 doubles, 10 home runs (seventh in the Pac-10) and a team-leading 42 RBI. He ended the year hitting safely in 19 of the team's final 20 games, including three game-winning RBI. For his career, Boesch has a .327 average with 37 doubles, three triples, 21 home runs and 90 RBI. He was a first-team All-Pac-10 selection in 2005 and honorable mention All-Pac-10 in 2006.

Three more Bears were picked Tuesday for an impressive five players in the first 10 rounds of the draft. Junior left fielder Chris Errecart was selected in the fifth round by the Milwaukee Brewers, senior infielder Allen Craig was selected in the eighth round by the St. Louis Cardinals and senior right-hander Jeremy Burchett was a ninth round pick of the Cincinnati Reds.

Errecart, a second-team preseason All-American in Baseball America, batted .268 this year with seven doubles, eight home runs and 30 RBI, including a game-winning homer Feb. 11 against Long Beach State on his 21st birthday. For his career, he has a .284 average with 26 doubles, 19 home runs and 83 RBI.

After being named a first-team Summer All-American in Baseball America, Craig did not missed a beat this spring as he owned a team-best .344 average with a team-high 76 hits, 39 runs, 15 doubles and 11 home runs (fifth in the Pac-10). He also had 27 multiple-hit games, a 124 total bases (eighth in the Pac-10) and a .561 slugging percentage (ninth in the Pac-10). Craig was honorable mention All-Pac-10 in 2005 and 2006. For his career, he had a .308 average with 48 doubles (7th on the Cal all-time list), a triple, 27 home runs (9th on the Cal all-time list) and 107 RBI in 192 games. Craig's 751 career at-bats are eighth, his 362 total bases are ninth, and his 231 hits are 10th on the Cal all-time list.

Burchett, who throws in the 90s with a sharp breaking curveball, finished the 2006 campaign with 23 strikeouts in 31.0 innings, five saves (8th in the Pac-10) and a 3.19 ERA in his first year as a full-time relief pitcher.