Major League draft pick Jeff Vincent |
NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. – Dreams do come true. Niagara University’s Jeff Vincent (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) was drafted Wednesday in the second day of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft.
Vincent was picked in the 43rd round by the Boston Red Sox, becoming the fourth Purple Eagle in the last two years to be drafted.
"It is an unbelievable feeling to be picked by your favorite team," Vincent said. "It was the most nerve-wrecking experience of my life. The scouts that come to watch you tell you you are going to get drafted high, but you never can believe them. Round after round you watch just hoping to see your name pop up and then it doesn’t, but I never lost hope and I’m glad I got picked."
Vincent will report to Lowell, Mass., next week to play with the Lowell Spinners. The Spinners are part of the New York-Penn League, a Short Season-A classification.
"Niagara is honored and pleased for Jeff Vincent to move forward in his professional career with the Boston Red Sox," Niagara head coach Chris Chernisky said. "We look forward to him having a solid professional baseball career."
Vincent finished his four-year career on Monteagle Ridge starting every game in center field. For his career, the 2006 First Team All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference pick and MAAC All-Tournament selection hit .304 with 177 hits, 125 runs, 35 doubles, 18 home runs and 117 RBI. He holds the school records for triples (12) and stolen bases (54).
In 2006, Vincent was .361 at the plate with a single-season record 33 stolen bases, which ranked second in the conference.
