Saint Joseph’s Baseball Team Breaks University’s MLB Draft Record

This year’s 2024 Major League Baseball Draft changed the lives of four Saint Joseph’s baseball players who were drafted to join MLB organizations — a University record for a single draft. The following student-athletes join 33 previous Hawks who have also heard their names called on draft day. 

• Outfielder Ryan Cesarini, BS ’25: Cleveland Guardians 
• Pitcher Luke Gabrysh, BS ’25: Philadelphia Phillies 
• Pitcher Matt McShane, BS ’25: Pittsburgh Pirates 
• Outfielder Ryan Picollo, BA ’24: Seattle Mariners 

SJU News spoke with the four draftees to get insight on why they chose to play baseball, who inspires them and what they look forward to in professional baseball.

What or who inspired you to play baseball? 

Picollo: My dad. He's worked in baseball my whole life with the Atlanta Braves and now with the Kansas City Royals. He introduced me to the game and, just growing up around it, I think that was a big inspiration for me to keep playing and wanting to do this professionally.

As a student, how have you balanced academics with baseball? 

Gabrysh: Having the resources of the study halls, the academic tutors and Coach [Fritz] Hamburg were big; they really pushed us to try our best in the classroom. Having an education, taking advantage of what St. Joe's provides for us and being a student first is something that they really push [at St. Joe’s]. 

Being drafted to the Major Leagues is a huge accomplishment! What were your feelings/reactions when you were drafted? 

McShane: Once my name got called, it was one of the moments that I'll never forget, and being able to share that moment with my family was really awesome. Then not long after, hearing the rest of the guys’ names called might have been even cooler than hearing my own name called. If you told me when I was a kid that I'd even be in this position, I’d probably tell you I wouldn't believe it. To have this opportunity to play for the Pirates is really awesome. 

How did SJU prepare you for the MLB? 

Picollo: St. Joe's has a history of not over-recruiting like most colleges or bigger schools, so you have a better opportunity to play every day and get on the field. Getting to the next step of playing professional baseball is getting in as many reps or swings, at-bats and innings as you can; gaining experience is what really matters. 

What are you most looking forward to in the MLB? 

Cesarini: I’d say the biggest thing I’m looking forward to is getting to branch out and meet new people from around the country and internationally. From what I've seen so far, there are a lot of players from Latin American countries like the Dominican Republic or Venezuela. It’s a cool experience where they're trying to learn English, and a lot of the English-speaking guys are trying to learn Spanish. So that's also something that'll be cool to see if I could pick up on and better my Spanish. 

What advice would you give future SJU baseball players looking to enter the MLB Draft? 

McShane: My first advice would be to work as hard as you can and trust that process of, if you put the work in, good things will happen. And my second piece of advice is: You have to have fun. If you're too worried or stressed about the next step and not living, just live in the present, enjoy where you're at, enjoy playing with the guys you're playing with and just let it happen. I have so many great memories playing with the team that it all just kind of happened naturally. Having fun and working hard all paid off in the end.