Xavier Baseball in the Pros

11/1/2018

ACTIVE MUSKETEERS

RYLAN BANNON - MINNESOTA TWINS - AAA ST. PAUL

ETHAN BOSACKER - KANSAS CITY ROYALS - HIGH-A QUAD CITIES

CONOR GRAMMES - ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS - AA AMARILLO

NOLAN HUGHES - WASHINGTON NATIONALS - TBD

ZAC LOWTHER - TOROS DE TIJUANA

VINNY NITTOLI - BALTIMORE ORIOLES - TBD

NICK ZWACK - SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS - AA RICHMOND

NOLAN HUGHES SELECTED BY WASHINGTON NATIONALS IN 2024 MLB DRAFT

Xavier baseball's Nolan Hughes was selected on the third day of the MLB First-Year Player Draft, going in the 16th round to the Washington Nationals as the 470th overall pick.

Hughes is the 24th Musketeer to be selected in the MLB Draft since 2005. At least one Xavier player has been selected in 10 of the last 11 years.

Hughes, a left-handed pitcher originally from Halifax, Mass., posted a 4.33 ERA through 24 appearances, including four starts, in 2024. In 35.1 innings of work, Hughes had a team-high 65 strikeouts and finished the season with a team-high matching five wins and a pair of saves.

For 2024, Hughes limited opposing batters to a .132 average at the plate for the season, the best mark among Xavier pitchers with at least 1.0 inning of work.

In BIG EAST play, Hughes had a 2.25 ERA through nine appearances, allowing just two hits while striking out 22 in 12.0 innings of work. His opposing batting average of .053 in conference games ranked best among qualified pitchers in the BIG EAST.

Prior to his time at Xavier, Hughes appeared in 19 games at Fordham, including making eight starts, collecting 68 strikeouts in 49.2 innings of work as a Ram.

JACK LYNCH, LUKE FRANZONI SELECTED IN 2022 MLB DRAFT

Xavier baseball had a pair selected on day three of the the 2022 MLB First-Year Player Draft, with junior Jack Lynh going to the St. Louis Cardinals in the 18th round, and senior Luke Franzoni selected in the 19th round by the Los Angeles Angels.

The two selections now mark 20 total Musketeers selected in the MLB Draft since 2005. At least one Xavier player has been selected in seven of the last nine years, and this marks the fourth time in that period that multiple Musketeers were picked.

Lynch, a left-handed pitcher originally from Dallas, Texas, finished his junior season as an All-BIG EAST First Team selection and an ABCA/Rawlings All-East Region honoree. Through 64.1 innings of work, in a team-high 28 appearances, Lynch had an ERA of 2.80 with an opponents' batting average of .204, both marks ranking the best among Xavier's pitchers who went 10.0 or more innings in 2022.

Lynch led the BIG EAST in the regular season with nine wins, earning a 9-0 record headed into the BIG EAST Tournament, with five of those coming against conference opponents. In conference play, Lynch's 2.30 ERA in 31.1 innings of work through 11 appearances ranked third in the league. Lynch's 28 appearances and nine wins both rank in the top 10 in the Xavier single season records.

Lynch's 77 strikeouts on the season led Xavier and ranked in the top five in the BIG EAST, helping the Musketeers' pitching staff break the program record for total strikeouts in a season (482). In three seasons at Xavier, Lynch has a 3.60 ERA through 45 appearances, including a career-best ERA of 1.69 in 2020. In 90 innings of work, he collected 101 strikeouts while allowing just 40 walks and limited opposing batters to a .202 average at the plate.

Franzoni, originally from Robbinsville, N.J., played first base for the Musketeers, wrapping up a record-breaking senior season with a team-best .358 batting average, collecting 76 hits, including 41 for extra bases to lead the BIG EAST with a .825 slugging percentage.

Among those extra base hits were 29 home runs, a single-season school record for Xavier and a mark that is tied for the most in NCAA DI at the conclusion of conference tournaments. Franzoni also set a new school record for runs batted in in a single season at 78, as well as tying the single game marks for home runs (3) and RBI (11).

For his Xavier career, Franzoni played in 157 games, with 146 starts, with a .299 average, collecting 156 hits overall, with a school-record 52 home runs for his career. In four seasons, Franzoni drove in 153 RBI and came around to score 117 runs.

In 2022, Franzoni was named BIG EAST Co-Player of the Year and to the conference First Team following a regular season in which he led the conference in home runs, walks and RBI, helping Xavier earn the No. 3 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament and advance to the Championship series.

Following Xavier's runners-up finish at the BIG EAST Championship, Franzoni earned the Jack Kaiser Most Outstanding Player trophy for his record-setting performance, setting new BIG EAST Championship records with five home runs in four games, a pair of grand slams, 16 RBI and seven runs.

Franzoni was named to the 2022 ABCA/Rawlings All-America Third Team after picking up First Team All-East Region honors from the ABCA. He also earned Second Team All-American honors from Collegiate Baseball.

TWO MUSKETEERS MAKE MAJOR LEAGUE DEBUT IN 2021

Lefty Zac Lowther, got the call up to the Orioles on Saturday, April 24, 2021 from Baltimore's Triple-A affiliate Norfolk, and made his major league debut on Sunday, April 25, 2021, pitching the ninth inning of the Orioles 8-1 victory over the Oakland A's. Lowther made his first Major League start on May 8 against the Boston Red Sox. He appeared in 10 MLB games for Baltimore in 2021, starting in six, an had a 6.67 ERA through 29.2 innings pitched, striking out 30 and finishing with a record of 1-3.

Following Lowther's debut in the Spring, Vinny Nittoli became the second Musketeer to make his MLB debut when he was called up to the Seattle Mariners from Tacoma on June 18, 2021, after posting a 3.50 ERA in 11 games. He made his MLB debut on June 23, 2021 pitching one inning of one-run ball against the Colorado Rockies. Nittoli, who was drafted in 2014, recorded a strikeout in his appearance with the Mariners.

Left-handed pitcher Nick Zwack became the 18th Musketeer selected in the MLB Draft since 2005 when he was selected by the New York Mets in the 17th Round of the 2021 MLB First-Year Player Draft with the 502nd pick overall. At least one Musketeer has been selected in six of the last eight years.

Zwack was a First Team All-BIG EAST selection following the 2021 season, pitching a team-leading 80.0 innings in 15 appearances, including 14 starts. The senior lefty posted a 3.15 ERA while limiting opposing batters to a .231 average at the plate, and collected a team-high six wins, including three complete games, and picked up a save. For his Xavier career, Zwack had 15 wins, 12th most in program history at the time of his graduation.

Zwack led the Musketeers with 75 strikeouts in 2021, the 12th most in a single season by a Musketeer in program record. His 2021 total brought him to 214 strikeouts for his Xavier career, sixth most in program history.

2019 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS

Xavier had pair of selections in the 2019 MLB Draft, with Conor Grammes going in the fifth round to the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chris Givin selected in the 19th round by the San Diego Padres.

The pair’s selection marked the third time in four years multiple Musketeers were taken.

FOUR MUSKETEERS SELECTED IN 2017

2017 was a banner year for the Musketeers in the MLB Draft, with a program-record four selections following Xavier’s BIG EAST Tournament Championship and second-straight NCAA Regional Final appearance.

Zac Lowther became the highest pick in program history, going in the second round to Baltimore. Lowther got the call up to the majors in 2021, making his MLB debut with the Orioles on April 25, 2021. Lowther made his first major league start on May 8, 2021.

Rylan Bannon, an eighth-round pick by the Dodgers would later be traded to Baltimore. Bannon moved up to the Oriole’s Triple-A affiliate in Norfolk in 2019, reuniting him with Lowther.

A pair of Xavier pitchers, Garrett Schilling and Greg Jacknewitz, were also selected. Schilling went in the 18th round to the Rockies while Jacknewitz went in the 22nd round to the Giants.

A PAIR OF MUSKETEERS DRAFTED IN 2016

Following Xavier’s BIG EAST Regular Season and Tournament Championship, and first-ever NCAA Regional Championship appearances, Dan Rizzie and Andre Jernigan were selected in the MLB Draft. It marked the first time the Musketeers had multiple selections in the draft.

Dan Rizzie was selected in the 13th round by the New York Mets, and Andre Jernigan was picked shortly after, going to the Minnesota Twins in the 14th round.

MLB SELECTIONS SINCE 1999

Jacob Bodner (2015: 27th Round, Kansas City)
Vinny Nittoli (2014: 25th Round, Seattle)
Seth Willoughby (2012: 4th Round, Colorado)
Ben Thomas (2011: 34th Round, San Francisco)
Thomas Shirley (2010: 9th Round, Houston)
Daniel Rosenbaum (2009: 22nd Round, Washington)
Charlie Leesman (2008, 11th Round, Chicago White Sox)
Jordan Wolf (2007: 13th Round, Baltimore
Jay Johnson (2005: 13th Round, Boston)
Kevin Cave (2001: 17th Round, Florida)
Matt Watson (1999: 16th Round, Montreal)

Charlie Leesman and Matt Watson are both among the former Musketeers who made MLB rosters.

JIM BUNNING - XAVIER'S HALL OF FAMER

MLB Hall of Famer Jim Bunning spent a single season pitching for the Musketeers' freshman team, before being drafted by the Detroit Tigers in 1950. Bunning returned to Xavier from 1952-54, coaching the freshman basketball team and earning a bachelor's degree in Economics in 1953.

During his 12-year MLB career, Bunning posted an overall record of 224-184 with a lifetime ERA of 3.27. He pitched for the Tigers from 1955-63, posting a career-best single season record of 20-8 for Detroit in 1957.

A 1996 inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame, Bunning was a seven-time Major League All-Star. He was the first pitcher since Cy Young to record 100 wins and 1,000 strikeouts in both leagues. He was also instrumental in founding the players' union.

After retiring from baseball, Bunning served as an elected official on both the city and state level in Kentucky before he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from the fourth congressional district in Northern Kentucky in 1986, serving in the House from 1987 to 1999.

Bunning was elected to the United States Senate from Kentucky in 1998 and served two terms as the Republican junior U.S. Senator.