By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – For the 10th consecutive year, the Tennessee Tech baseball team played host to numerous Major League Baseball teams with its annual Pro Scout Night Wednesday evening, opening the gates and doors to Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex to scouts from the highest level of professional baseball.
"It's just awesome," head coach Matt Bragga said. "You attribute the number of guys here watching and scouting our team to what our guys have done on the field over the years. These are really good young men who have put in a ton of effort and energy to help build this program into a great one. Because of that, these guys out here know we have good players and they're going to show up and perform."
Major League Baseball was represented by over half of its membership on the night, inlcuding the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Angels, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, and Washington Nationals, among others.
"We had about 24 scouts here tonight representing a number of Major League teams, which is phenomenal," Bragga said. "It was real neat to have all those guys here. It's awesome for our guys to play in front of Major League Baseball scouts and great for our program."
Bragga attriubted the combination of both team and individual success from last season and the amount of veteran and experienced players back on the Tech roster to the uptick in Major League representation.
"Having as many guys as we have back after the year we had last season...it does mean a lot," Bragga explained. "I think that's one of the main reasons we had so many major league guys out here tonight. Last year, surprisingly to me, we didn't have anyone sign with Major League Baseball, and that was one of the best teams to ever walk through the doors here. I think they realized, 'Wait, hold on. This is a great program. They have a lot of guys back. We have to make sure we see these guys perform and play.' Again, I attribute it to our guys having a really good year last year and making this program what it is today."
Photos by Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
