Mid-American Conference

A total of 15 MAC student-athletes were taken during this year's 2016 Major League Baseball Draft. Here’s a breakdown of who was selected & where they are headed. 

Eric Lauer, LHP, Kent State -- San Diego Padres (1st Round, 25th Pick) 
The Golden Flashes' lefty posted the lowest ERA in the nation and the lowest from a Division I starting pitcher in decades, a miniscule 0.69 in 104.0 innings.  His 125 strikeouts this season ranked as the second-most all-time in a single season at Kent State while he also sits second in career strikeouts.  Lauer was named the national Player of the Year by Collegiate Baseball while also garnering First Team All-America honors from Baseball America.  His excellence in the classroom was recognized, too, as he was named a Second Team Academic All-American, the highest individual academic honor in program history.

Keegan Akin, LHP, Western Michigan -- Chicago White Sox (2nd Round, 54th Pick) 
Akin became the highest WMU draft pick since 1970 when the Baltimore Orioles selected the Midland, Mich. native with the 54th pick in the Second Round Thursday night. Akin finished his junior campaign with 133 strikeouts, which is good for third in the nation currently. His strikeout total also set the WMU single season record held by Pat Misch (99) since 2001. He finished with a 1.82 ERA, a mark good for 15th in the nation and second in the MAC. Akin led Western Michigan in ERA (1.82), starts (17), complete games (2), innings (109.0), opponent batting average (.192), strikeouts (133) and allowed only one home run all season.

Alex Call, OF, Ball State -- Chicago White Sox (3rd Round, 86th Pick) 

Call was the 86th player picked overall, marking the highest selection featuring a Ball State player since 2010.
Call, a junior from River Falls, Wisconsin, piled up numerous accolades following his 2016 season. The outfielder was the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year, a Louisville Slugger first team All-American and named to the MAC All-Defensive Team. He was the league leader in hits (87), runs (67), doubles (24), triples (6), total bases (162) and slugging (.667) while ranking among the top five players in the MAC in home runs (13), batting average (.358), stolen bases (17) and on-base percentage (.443).

Andy Ravel, RHP, Kent State -- Toronto Blue Jays (7th Round, 222nd Pick) 
Ravel went 8-4 this season with a 3.36 ERA.  In 91.0 innings, Ravel struck out 77 batters while walking just 20.  The finest outing of career came on May 7 as he hurled a complete game shutout against Buffalo, striking out seven in the effort. Ravel was also drafted out of high school in 2013, taken in the 21st round by the Diamondbacks.  He was slated as one of the top prospects in the Flashes' recruiting classes that season and he lived up to the billing in his three-year career.

Jarett Rindfleisch, C, Ball State -- Miami Marlins (9th Round, 263rd Pick) 

Rindfleisch, a junior from Middletown, Ohio, notched a pair of home runs in Ball State’s 7-1 win over No. 6 LSU on March 11. He concluded the 2016 season with a batting average above .300 for the third straight year and led all MAC catchers in home runs (7), runs scored (43), RBIs (31), on-base percentage (.446), slugging (.503) and caught stealing percentage (.396).

Zach Plesac, RHP, Ball State -- Cleveland Indians (12th Round, 362nd Pick) 

Plesac, a junior from Crown Point, Indiana, was the 2014 Collegiate Baseball National Freshman Pitcher of the Year. The righty set a Ball State single-season record with 12 wins that year and led the Cardinals in ERA (2.11) and saves (6). This year, Plesac tossed a two-hit complete game shutout in the 9-0 win over Miami (Ohio) on March 26. He struck out a career-high 11 batters and only allowed one base runner the final four innings.

 
Conner Simonetti, 1B, Kent State -- Washington Nationals (13th Round, 394th Pick) 
Simonetti put together a monster junior campaign, hitting .311 while smashing a team-high 17 homeruns for a .599 slugging percentage on the season.  The junior added in 11 doubles and a triple to go along with 50 RBI this year.  He was named Second Team All-MAC while also being recognized on the MAC All-Tournament Team this season.  Of the field, he was a Academic All-District honoree.

Mitch Longo, 1B, Ohio -- Cleveland Indians (14th Round, 422nd Pick) 

A 2016 Second Team All-Mid-American Conference selection, Longo led the team with a .360 batting average, a .438 on-base percentage, 77 hits, 14 doubles and 12 stolen bases. He also ranked second in runs scored (36), walks (25), slugging percentage (.467) and total bases (100). Longo recorded a team-high 24 multi-hit games this season -- including seven with at least three hits, which tied De Jesus for the team lead. He helped lead the Bobcats to 23 wins -- including a pair of road series victories at Big Ten Conference foe Purdue and Atlantic Coast Conference foe Notre Dame.

Mike Kaelin, RHP, Buffalo -- Los Angeles Angels (15th Round, 456th Pick)
The hard-throwing righty finished off his junior season appearing in 20 games while owning a 4.11 ERA and striking out 44 batters over 35.0 innings of work. He collected a team-best five saves on the season, third most in a single season in program history. Kaelin sits in third place on the Bulls all-time saves list with 11 for his career while also ranking seventh in career appearances with 59.

Chad Sedio, SS, Miami -- Detroit Tigers (27th Round, 805th Pick) 

Sedio played in 170 games for Miami. Across his senior year, he hit 13 home runs and registered 30 RBI. He scored 38 runs, stole 14 bases, and finished the year with a .269 batting average. Sedio posted career highs in stolen bases, runs scored, home runs, RBI, hits (53), and doubles (8).

Nick Deeg, LHP, Central Michigan -- San Francisco Giants (30th Round, 905th Pick) 
Deeg, who stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 228 pounds, went 4-7 with a 3.95 earned run average in 15 appearances, all of them starts, for CMU in the 2016 season. He threw two complete games, struck out 86 and walked 34 in 98 innings. In his three-year career at CMU, Deeg is 17-16 with a 3.71 ERA. Deeg was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 37th round in 2013 coming out of suburban-Detroit’s Lake Orion High School.

Sean Renzi, RHP, Central Michigan -- Chicago White Sox (32nd Round, 956th Pick) 

Renzi, who went undrafted out of Plainfield (Ill.) North High School, went 5-7 in 2016 for the Chippewas, compiling a 4.70 ERA. The 6-3, 242-pound righty threw one complete game. Renzi, who went from starter to closer back to starter during the season, struck out 75 and walked 49 in 82 1/3 innings. He finished his CMU career 12-11 with a 3.98 ERA and was named First Team All-MAC in 2015.

Deion Tansel, SS, Toledo -- Tampa Bay Rays (32nd Round, 960th Pick) 

Tansel was named to the All-MAC first-team and also took home MAC Defensive Player of the Year for the second-consecutive season. The Grand Rapids, OH native hit a team-best .327 this season with 12 doubles and 29 RBI. Tansel wrapped his Toledo career tied for fourth in UT history with 247 career hits.

Zach McKinstry, SS, Central Michigan -- Los Angeles Dodgers (33rd Round, 1001st Pick)

McKinstry, a 6-1, 162-pound sophomore, hit .325 with 26 RBI. He also stole 12 bases in 17 attempts and committed 17 errors on 286 chances at shortstop for a .941 fielding percentage. In his two years at CMU, McKinstry has hit .321 with  45 RBI and scored 74 runs. He was named to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American team in 2015.

Colin Brockhouse, RHP, Ball State -- Pittsburgh Pirates (37th Round, 1125th pick) 

Brockhouse, a sophomore from Fort Wayne, Indiana, was used in a variety of roles for the Cardinals this spring. He was used as a starting pitcher, relief pitcher, outfielder, third baseman and designated hitter. The righty nearly struck out one batter per inning – 53 strikeouts in 57.1 innings – in his 17 appearances. Brockhouse went a season-high 6.2 innings and struck out eight batters in a 6-1 win over Dayton on March 18.