McShane, Cesarini, Gabrysh and Picollo Selected in MLB Draft

Junior pitcher Matt McShane was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 13^th round, junior outfielder Ryan Cesarini was chosen by the Cleveland Guardians in the 14^th round, junior pitcher Luke Gabrysh was tabbed by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 15^th round, and senior outfielder Ryan Picollo had his name called by the Seattle Mariners in the 20^th Round.
 
"Wow! What a tremendous day for Matt McShane, Ryan Cesarini, Luke Gabrysh, and Ryan Picollo and their families!" head coach Fritz Hamburg said. "Just absolutely fantastic! I honestly couldn't be prouder and I know that their Hawk teammates and coaching staff are so proud and fired up for them! Obviously, I'm extremely happy for our program and for our University, but today is a celebration for these guys and the hard work they have put in and the success that they have had in their baseball careers to date."
 
McShane has made 53 appearances for the Hawks, with all but two coming out of the bullpen. He has posted a 14-2 career record, tying for the tenth-most wins in program history. He turned in a stellar freshman season, going 6-0 with a 2.40 earned run average, en route to Atlantic 10 All-Rookie honors in 2022.
 
A native of Bensalem, Pennsylvania, has also notched six career saves in his time on Hawk Hill, tying for the ninth-most in program history. A strong performer in the classroom as well as on the mound, McShane earned Academic All-District honors from College Sports Communicators in 2024.
 
Cesarini boasts a career batting average of .362 in the Crimson and Gray, ranking fifth in program history, to go with 17 home runs and 102 runs batted in across 108 career games. He led the league with a .392 average in 2023 and hit .380 in 2024 after missing the first six weeks of the season due to injury.
 
The Archbald, Pa., native is a two-time Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team selection and was named to the ABCA All-Region First Team in 2023. He was also chosen for the 2024 A-10 All-Championship Team after going 12-for-23 with five home runs, 10 runs scored, and a tournament-best 11 RBI to lead the Hawks to three postseason victories, the most in 50 years.
 
Gabrysh tied for second on the squad with 20 appearances last season, with 19 of them coming out of the bullpen. He posted a 3-3 mark with one save and appeared in two of the Hawks' postseason games.
 
Hailing from Wilmington, Delaware, Gabrysh improved his strikeout-to-walk and strikeouts-per-nine ratios in each of his three seasons on Hawk Hill, posting career-best marks of 1.85-to-1 and 8.1, respectively, in 2024, as well as career highs in innings (41.1) and strikeouts (37).
 
Picollo posted a career-bests with a .290 batting average, 13 home runs, and 49 RBI as a senior. He ranked in the top 10 in the Atlantic 10 in home runs, while his 24 career home runs rank him seventh in program history.
 
A product of Leawood, Kansas, Picollo earned Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team honors in 2024 as a byproduct of both his production at the plate and his strong defense in right field, where he went errorless in conference play and chipped in three outfield assists.
 
"I want to thank the Pirates, Guardians, Phillies, and Mariners organizations for drafting our players," Hamburg said. "With the draft being only 20 rounds now, being selected is extremely competitive. It's an honor that they see our players as prospects for their organizations. Like our former Hawks selected, we will look forward to following their progress and wish them all the best in their journey to make it to the big leagues."
 
The four selections are a program record for a single draft, marking the fourth time that multiple Hawks were chosen in the same draft (two each in 1979, 2011, 2014). The quarter brings the total of Hawk draftees under Hamburg to 13, while a total of 33 Hawks have heard their names called on draft day.

This news article orignially appeared on sjuhawks.com.