June 4, 2008

Capsules of Villanova Potential Pro Prospects
Villanova Draft History

VILLANOVA, Pa.-- The combination of its recent 30-win season and semifinals appearance in the BIG EAST Championship plus a veteran team that included 12 senior student-athletes could spell good things for Villanova in this week's Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. The Wildcats have several potential draft prospects who could be taken in the two-day, 50-round draft on Thursday and Friday. Villanova head coach Joe Godri sat down this week to discuss the professional prospects for several of his team's seniors.

Villanova's potential prospects heading into the draft include shortstop Derek Shunk (Yardley, Pa.), right fielder James Dolbier (Lebanon, N.J.), starting pitcher Jordan Ellis (Bryn Mawr, Pa.), first baseman/left fielder Dan Terpak (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), second baseman Ryan Arcadia (Upper Saddle River, N.J.) and starting pitcher Bill Hoffman (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.).

"I am proud to once again have players on our team who should and will get drafted and I wish them all the luck in the world," Godri said. "The draft is a unique experience that kind of gets out of our control each year. It seems that each year there are guys I am extremely happy for because it is always a new experience when one of my players gets drafted. Then there are also guys that I had hoped would have gotten the opportunity to continue their careers. It is such a unique process from a coaching perspective. There are a lot of highs that go with your guys being drafted but five minutes later you might be on the phone with someone experiencing the lows of it. I am proud to be able to say that so many Villanova players over the years have been given the opportunity to play at least an extra year of baseball."

The Wildcats successful 2008 campaign allowed players such as Shunk and Dolbier in particular to finish the season on a tear in front of professional scouts and talent evaluators at the BIG EAST Championship in Clearwater, Florida. Shunk batted .556 (10-for-18) with two home runs in four conference tournament games and Dolbier had nine RBI in the tournament. Hoffman and Terpak were also in top form, as Hoffman pitched a five-hit shutout against Seton Hall and Terpak extended his streak of consecutive games reaching base safely to 36 straight contests.

"It is of immense importance to finish the season strong for players who might be prospects for the draft," Godri said. "Over the past few seasons I can think of some of the guys that played for me who were on the bubble that didn't get a chance to go to the playoffs. The BIG EAST Conference is the top-rated conference in the North and gets terrific coverage from pro scouts. Playing one extra week can change a lot of people's thoughts. We saw that with Mike Loree pitching a great game against Louisville in the conference tournament last season and hopefully we will see it again this year with the performances that some of our players had in the postseason."

Since taking over as head coach in 2002, Godri has had 11 of his players chosen in the draft. In addition, several other Villanova recruits were drafted out of high school prior to either enrolling at the University or choosing to begin their professional careers. The Wildcats have had at least one current player drafted in each of the last six seasons, which matches the second longest consecutive streak in program history. Villanova had at least one player chosen in eight straight years between 1989 and 1996.

Overall, the Wildcats have had 46 players drafted a total of 54 times since the inception of the draft in 1965. Villanova has had 54 former players reach the major leagues, with six doing after being chosen in the draft. The last Wildcat alum to reach the major leagues is right-handed pitcher Brian Slocum, who pitched with the Indians during the 2006 season. He currently pitches for the team's Triple-A affiliate Buffalo Bisons of the International League.

There are currently four former Villanova players that are playing professional baseball in the American minor league system. The group includes Slocum, right-handed pitchers Kevin Mulvey and Mike Loree and first baseman Jeremy Hunt. Mulvey is with the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings (Minnesota Twins) in the International League, Hunt is with the Advanced Class-A Lake Elsinore Storm (San Diego Padres) of the California League and Loree is pitching in the San Francisco Giants organization.

The Major League Baseball Amateur Draft consists of all 30 teams making picks over 50 rounds. The initial 20 rounds will be held Thursday, June 5, with the final 30 rounds on tap for Friday. For the second straight year, ESPN2 will televise the first round and compensation picks live on Thursday beginning at 2 p.m. Fans can also log on to www.mlb.com and follow the live DraftTracker for every pick both days. A complete wrap-up of all Wildcat draftees will be available on www.villanova.com on Tuesday and Wednesday evening.

Click on the link at the top of this release for a capsule of each of the potential Villanova professional prospects.