Jimmy in action for Elon University (photo courtesy of Jeremy McKnight of Elon Universirty)
On Thursday, June 6, Jimmy Stokes '09 got the phone call every baseball player dreams of: a call from a Major League Baseball team informing him that he had been selected in the first-year player draft. He becomes the seventh Hill alumnus to be drafted by a major league baseball club, joining Fritz Hamburg '84, Dave Willman '88, Scott Eidle '89, Larry Williams '92, George Pickard '95, and Chad Hausman '98.
Jimmy, a pitcher for Elon University's baseball team, recently completed his redshirt sophomore season after missing the entire 2011 season recovering from Tommy John surgery. Despite putting up solid numbers on the mound in his two seasons so far, Jimmy did not expect to be taken in this year's draft.
"I really wasn't expecting it (to be drafted)," he said in an interview with Darryl Grumling of The Pottstown Mercury. "Leading up to the draft, I had talked to some teams, but the consensus was that I would be returning to Elon for my redshirt junior season next year."
Hill head coach Chris Drowne '89 expressed sincere joy for Jimmy's achievement.
"We at The Hill are incredibly happy for and proud of Jimmy for this great honor and opportunity," he said. "He has worked hard to improve each year, including fighting back from a recent injury. It's a well earned dream come true for a fine young man!"