BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. — Gardner-Webb pitcher Mason Miller was picked by the Oakland A's in the third round of the Major League Baseball Draft on Monday, the 97th player selected overall.
Miller becomes the second-highest Runnin' Bulldogs player picked in the program's Division 1 history. In 2005, Zach Ward was picked 92nd overall by the Reds.
The righthanded Miller ranked 21st in the country with 121 strikeouts this season, the second most in program history.
Transferring to Boiling springs from a Division 3 program, a diabetes diagnosis in college helped Miller change his eating and workout habits. That resulted in added weight and muscle for the 6-foot-5, 205-pound ace.