George Washington University

June 8, 2010

WASHINGTON, DC -- George Washington University junior right-handed pitcher Eric Cantrell was chosen by the Kansas City Royals Tuesday in the seventh round (209th pick overall) of the 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. It marks the fourth-highest pick for a GW player and the 11th consecutive year in which a Colonial has been selected in the MLB Draft. The 50-round draft continues Wednesday.

Cantrell, who was named to the 2010 Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team, finished the season with a 3.67 ERA in 100.2 innings pitched. The Oakton, VA, native broke the Colonials' single-season strikeout record with 114 on the season while walking just 27 batters. Cantrell finished the season with an 8-4 record and recorded three complete games. He threw at least seven innings in all but three of his 14 starts and recorded double-digit strikeout totals in four of his outings. The right-hander also struck out at least six batters in all but two of his starts and was a two-time A-10 Pitcher of the Week selection.

Cantrell's 114 strikeouts led the A-10 as did the 60 batters he struck out looking. He held opposing hitters to a .264 batting average and finished with eight wins, tied for third in the league.

In his final appearance of the 2010 season, Cantrell broke the GW single-season record for strikeouts when he fanned eight Rhode Island Rams on May 22 in Kingston, RI. He pitched 8 1/3 innings against URI, allowed three earned runs and his eight strikeouts gave him 114 on the season, four more than the previous school record of 110.

Cantrell also had the distinct honor of throwing the first competitive pitch at Nationals Park when GW hosted Saint Joseph's in an A-10 game on March 22, 2008.

GW's highest draft pick was Hank Bunnell (`71) who was selected in the third round (48th pick overall) of the 1971 MLB Draft by the Washington Senators. Anthony Raglani was selected in the fifth round (148th pick overall) by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2004 Draft. Mike O'Connor (`02), like Cantrell, also was selected in the seventh round but with the 197th pick overall in the 2002 Draft by the Montreal Expos.