Phillies Select Broussard in 23rd Round MLB Draft

With their 23rd-round pick in the 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, the Philadelphia Phillies selected Cal Poly Pomona All-American pitcher Geoff Broussard.

As the 728th overall pick, he is the 84th player in the history of CPP baseball to be selected in the MLB draft and the second Bronco to be picked by the Phillies. Philadelphia drafted George Fowlkes in the 26th round of the 1965 draft.

"Geoff has a tremendous work ethic and his mental toughness will help him succeed at the pro level," Broncos' head coach Randy Betten said. "He overcame a lot of adversity as a Bronco with us switching him between the bullpen and the starting rotation. We're very proud of his accomplishments and we know his future is bright."

This marks the fourth-straight year that the MLB draft has featured a CPP student-athlete, as Brad Wilson went in the 33rd round to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2009, Josh Krist was picked in the 39th round by the Seattle Mariners in 2010 and Travis Taijeron was an 18th-round pick by the New York Mets in the 2011 draft.

Broussard, a senior right-hander out of Rancho Cucamonga, was recently announced as an NCAA Division II All-American for all three award outlets - the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), Daktronics and the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings. In early May, Broussard earned the title of West Region Pitcher of the Year on two different occasions.

Through his senior campaign in 2012, Broussard maintained an earned run average of 1.58 through 2012 while collecting 82 strikeouts in 97 innings thrown. A two-time California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Pitcher of the Week this year, Broussard recorded seven complete games and two shutouts in his 12 starts. In Friday's All-America announcement, he proved to be the only CCAA player to be featured among the First Team selections.

In his four years as a Bronco, Broussard totaled 265.2 innings while compiling a record of 23-7. During 2012, he went 11-1 and helped CPP attain a winning percentage of .633, the highest mark for the program since 1983. Combined with the 2011 percentage of .610, the Broncos have put together back-to-back .600+ seasons for the first time since 1979 and 1980.

On Friday, May 25, Broussard was featured on the Daktronics All-America First Team. On Tuesday, May 29, he earned a spot on the NCBWA All-America Second Team. On Friday, June 1, the senior right-hander received ABCA/Rawlings All-America First Team honors.