St. Cloud, Minn. – The St. Cloud Rox had 11 former players selected in the Major League Baseball draft this past weekend, part of 179 total Northwoods League players who were taken in the draft.

Will Craig (Rox-2014) was the first former St. Cloud player to be selected, taken in the first round with the 22^nd overall pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He became the highest drafted player in Rox history.

Four Rox players were taken on the second day of the draft. Chad Hockin (Rox-2014) was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the sixth round, and John Sansone (2015) was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the eighth round. A pair of St. Cloud players were taken in the ninth round, with Dalton Sawyer (Rox-2013) going to the Oakland Athletics with the 262^nd pick and Mitchell Kranson (Rox-2014) going to the Minnesota Twins 11 picks later.

The first Rox player selected on the final day of the draft was Cold Spring native Austin Athmann (Rox-2015), who was taken by the Detroit Tigers in the 14^th round. With the final pick of that round was Vincent Jackson (Rox-2013) who went to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Pitcher Domenick Carlini (Rox-2015) joined Kranson by being drafted by the Minnesota Twins, being selected in the 21^st round with the 633^rd pick overall. His fellow pitcher Chris Farish (Rox-2015) was taken ten rounds later by the Cleveland Indians.

The final two Rox draftees were selected in the penultimate round of the draft. Tyler Wolfe (Rox-2013) was taken by the Houston Astros in the 39^th round. Eight picks later the Pittsburgh Pirates bookended the draft for the Rox by selecting Harrison Wenson (Rox-2014) with the 1185^th overall pick. Following the draft, Daniel Martinez (Rox-2013-14) signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Twins and Keaton Siomkin (Rox-2012) signed with the St. Louis Cardinals.

A Northwoods League record five players were taken in the first round, including Craig. 11 NWL teams had at least ten players drafted, and every team had at least six players taken. The Madison Mallards led the way for the league with 23 players taken.

The St. Cloud Rox are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 23rd season of summer collegiate baseball, the Northwoods League is the largest summer collegiate baseball league in the world with 18 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 150 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (OAK). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League Website.  For more information, visit www.stcloudrox.com.