June 4, 2003

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara University baseball team had its third player drafted in the Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft on Wednesday when Matt Travis was taken with the first pick (938th overall) of the 32nd round by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

The southpaw from Glendora, Calif., had his four-year career at Santa Clara culminated with the selection. He joins fellow seniors Joe Diefenderfer (19th round) and Scott Dierks (24th round) as the only current Broncos who have been drafted this year. Second baseman A.J. LaBarbera withdrew his name from the draft when he signed a fifth-year senior free agent contract with the San Francisco Giants two weeks before the draft.

During his time on the Mission Campus, Travis made 65 appearances on the mound, 54 of which were as the starter. He tossed 349 innings during his career, including 99 1/3 this in 2003. He compiled 16 wins to go along with a 5.85 career ERA. He struck out 162 batters and tossed nine complete games during his career, including three this past season. He won five games during his freshman, junior and senior seasons.

"Matt really picked it up his senior year showing himself to be worthy of a draft pick," said head coach Mark O'Brien. "He has a very good chance to become a very successful pitcher for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays organization because of his work ethic and consistency."

The MLB draft is concluding its second day of the two-day draft. The first 20 rounds were conducted on Tuesday, with the final rounds taking place on Wednesday.