Kansas outfielder Derek Cerda was selected in the 17th round, 496th overall by the Chicago White Sox in the MLB Draft on Monday.
Cerda is a 6-foot-1 native of the Dominican Republic that spent one season in Lawrence, following a stint at Western Oklahoma State College.
During his season at Kansas, he quickly became a fan favorite amongst Jayhawk fans, due to his energetic playstyle and flashy glove in center field.
This season, Cerda slashed .279/.410/.503, going with ten home runs and 30 RBIs and adding ten stolen bases for a Kansas team that reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014. His biggest homer of the season came in the fourth inning of Kansas’ opening NCAA Tournament game, when he sent a fly ball over the left field wall to tie the game.
Cerda is the third Kansas player to be drafted in this year’s draft, joining Brady Counsell (Arizona Diamondbacks) and Alex Breckheimer (St. Louis Cardinals).
This article was edited by multimedia editor Val Montanez. Contact her valmon@ku.edu for feedback or errors.