By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech baseball team hosted its eighth annual Pro Scout Night Thursday evening, welcoming scouts from the highest level of professional baseball to Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
"Our annual Pro Scout Night gets better every year and has really just been great for the advancement of our program," head coach Matt Bragga said. "Guys want to play in places where they can be seen and have a chance to play at the next level, and this event does this for our team. We love recruiting players who want to continue their playing careers at the next level."
More than half of the big league clubs in Major League Baseball sent representatives to inspect the talent of the Golden Eagle squad. Among the teams that sent scouts to Cookeville included the Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Miami Marlins, Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago White Sox and more.
Tech began the event with a brief batting practice session, followed soon after with sprints and running drills in the outfield. Throwing and fielding drills followed, leading up to the night's premiere event, a seven-inning intrasquad scrimmage. The Golden Eagle talent was on display all night, with home runs soaring through the night sky and gloves flashing web gems all over the infield. Pitching was also out in full force, with several quality pitches being hurled over home plate.
"Giving scouts the opportunity to see our players early has clearly paid dividends come draft day," Bragga continued. "Obviously, our guys have to go out and perform, but when the teams already know who they're looking at, it proves to be a big boost in answering any questions they may have had otherwise."
Since the 2009 season, the Golden Eagles have placed 16 players with major league clubs, including at least one in each of the past eight seasons.
"It has allowed our guys here to get the most out of their ability," Bragga concluded, "but it's also shown to have an impact in terms of our guys making it to the next level. We've had a guy or more drafted every year since we started this program and I'm excited that we can continue its success."
