Nationals draft Southeast Missouri State shortstop Boggetto in 25th round

The moment Branden Boggetto told Southeast Missouri State baseball coach Steve Bieser that he wouldn't be able to play anymore after recording the final out of the fourth inning of the Redhawks' NCAA Regional opener vs. Mississippi State was the moment that it sank in that it might be the end of his playing days.

Fortunately for Boggetto, who had his thumbnail torn off and a gash on his finger on that inning-ending defensive play, he gets another chance. The shortstop was selected by the Washington Nationals in the 25th round as the 754th overall pick of the MLB Draft on Saturday.

"It just hit me that I really don't want to stop playing baseball," Boggetto said. "I'm not ready to stop playing yet, so I was just hoping that if I couldn't play the next day [at the regional] that I'd get a chance down the road, and I'm just really happy I've been given that chance."

Boggetto joined pitcher Joey Lucchesi as the Redhawks' draftees. It's the first time since 2012, when Shae Simmons and Trenton Moses were both drafted by the Atlanta Braves, that Southeast has had multiple players drafted in the same year.

"That's exciting for our program and pleased with those guys getting an opportunity, but when you always look at it there's some guys and you just feel a little down because you felt like they deserved a chance as well," Bieser said. "But that's the draft, and I think any time we can get multiple guys in the draft you've got to really be pleased."

Boggetto was just relaxing at home when he heard his dad screaming his name from another room in the house. He ran to see what was going on, and his jaw dropped when he heard that his dream had come true.

"I think it's finally starting to set in now that my name got called," Boggetto said. "It's something that I can't really describe, knowing that all the work I've put in over the years has finally paid off. It feels amazing."

Boggetto, who had a handful of pro teams show interest in him, felt that if he was going to be drafted there was a pretty good chance it would be the Nationals as their scout had kept in contact with him and showed more interest. He'll fly down to Florida later this week and plans to find out more about where he'll be assigned after that.

Boggetto was a four-year starter at Southeast and played a big role in each of the Redhawks' Ohio Valley Conference regular-season championships the last three years.

"It's really exciting to see a four-year guy and the work that Branden's put in to make himself a professional baseball player -- he just continued to progress on all levels all through his four years," Bieser said. "That's good to see a guy get rewarded for the amount of work that he put in."

Boggetto started and played every game at shortstop as a junior and senior except for the Redhawks' final game of the season due to his hand injury. He played 208 games at Southeast and started 195 of them.

He was a first-team All-OVC selection this season and a second-team pick as a junior.

He hit .339 as a senior and led the Redhawks with 18 doubles and four triples. He tied for the team lead with 61 RBIs, scored 64 runs and hit five home runs.

Boggetto was named to the Brooks Wallace Award watch list for the nation's top shortstop and was a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection this season. He was an ABCA/Rawlings South All-Region second-team pick as a junior.

"The biggest thing about Branden is he's just a complete ballplayer," Bieser said. "He played the defensive side really well; he's got some pop in his bat where he can drive the ball a little bit and he's found a good niche as far as a doubles-type guy and a higher-type batting average and just continued to cut down on his strikeouts all season long."

Boggetto ends his career in the top 10 of several career leader lists at Southeast. He ranks fourth in doubles (61), fifth in RBIs (164), seventh in at-bats (777), eighth in total bases (376) and runs scored (158) and ninth in hits (229) and walks (90).

"Being there for four years has been a blessing. I can't imagine going anywhere else," Boggetto said. "It was a great place to play for four years. I definitely learned a lot just about myself and it's been a great experience. I just want to say thanks to all the coaches and all my teammates there and everyone in the Redhawk family for doing what they did. I can't thank them enough."

Austin Peay led all OVC teams with four players drafted. Junior catcher Ridge Smith was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 12th round (372nd pick), junior second baseman Logan Gray was taken in the 13th round by the Kansas City Royals (403rd pick), junior second baseman Garrett Copeland was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 30th round (901st pick), and senior RHP Jared Carkuff was picked by Toronto in the 35th round (1,060th pick).

Belmont senior RHP Aaron Quillen was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 22nd round (648th pick), and junior shortstop Tyler Walsh was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 39th round (1,179th pick)

Eastern Kentucky senior third baseman and OVC Co-Player of the Year Mandy Alvarez was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 17th round (518th pick), and senior outfielder Kyle Nowlin was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 21st round (622nd pick)

Morehead State senior RHP Matt Anderson was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 10th round (315th pick), senior RHP Tyler Keele was picked up by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 15th round (449th pick), and senior RHP Patrick McGuff was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 36th round (1,083rd pick)

Poplar Bluff's Kameron Misner, who'd signed to play at Missouri next year, was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 33rd round (1,003rd pick).