Matt Crocker is the 23rd player during the Sherman Corbett era to play professionally.
SAN ANTONIO — Junior pitcher Matt Crocker agreed to terms with the Colorado Rockies on Monday evening and has reported to the Casper Ghosts, the franchise's short-season Rookie affiliate in the Pioneer League. Crocker was a 12th-round selection (380th overall) two weeks ago during the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
"It was a tough decision because I love UTSA and my teammates, but when it was all said and done, chasing my dream of playing professional baseball was too much to pass up," Crocker said. "I want to thank Coach (Sherman) Corbett, his coaching staff and all my teammates for helping me get to this point. I'm really excited about beginning the next chapter of my career."
Crocker, the 25th pick of the 12th round, became the third-highest selection in the program's 19-year history behind Mark Schramek (2002/first round/Cincinnati Reds) and Jeff Hutzler (1995/10th round/San Francisco Giants). He is the 23rd player during the Sherman Corbett era to go on to a professional career.
A 6-foot-3, 185-pound left-hander, Crocker is coming off an injury-shortened (foot) third season that saw him post a 2-3 record and a 5.17 ERA in eight starts. The Kingwood native posted a sterling 42-to-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 47 innings in what was his first year as a starter. He did not appear in a game after his April 2 assignment at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Crocker appeared in 34 games during his three-year Roadrunners career and posted an 8-6 ledger to go along with a 4.63 ERA, 89 punchouts and 28 walks in 93.1 innings of work.
"Although I am disappointed that Matt will not play for us next season, I look forward to seeing what the future has in store for him in professional baseball," Corbett sais. "He improved tremendously over the past three seasons and made himself one of our top pitchers. That improvement also gained the attention of pro scouts, who thought he had the ability to play at the next level. I wish Matt the best and much success in the next stage of his baseball career."
Crocker joins Sean Danielson (Class AA Carolina Mudcats/Cincinnati Reds), Jose Hernandez (Class A West Virginia Power/Pittsburgh Pirates), Trent Lockwood (Class A Tampa Yankees/New York Yankees), Michael Rockett (Class A West Michigan Whitecaps/Detroit Tigers) and Tim Palincsar (Class A Kinston Indians/Cleveland Indians) as former Roadrunners currently playing Minor League Baseball.