Tweet #theGAC  SECAUCUS, NJ – On Wednesday during the final day of the 2018 Major League Baseball June Amateur First-Year Player Draft, the Cincinnati Reds used their 19th round pick to take SAU Baseball junior right-hander Nick Starr, while the Philadelphia Phillies selected Mulerider junior right-hander Eric White in the 26th round.

The hard-throwing duo becomes the first Southern Arkansas players drafted since 2013 and it marks the seventh time in program history that multiple players have been selected in the same draft.

Starr and White shared a pivotal role out of the Mulerider bullpen in 2018 as the pair helped Southern Arkansas capture the Great American Conference Tournament Championship and reach the championship game of the Central Region Tournament. Both relievers appeared in 18 games and each finished the fourth-most games in the Great American Conference at 14, while combining for 15 saves.

As a transfer junior from Connors State College, Starr notched six saves, the fourth-most in the GAC, in 18 relief appearances totaling 31.0 innings. Additionally, he registered 46 strikeouts and owned a 3-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. In his final appearance of the 2018 season, the Conway, Arkansas, native struck out a season-high seven batters in a season-long relief effort of 3.2 innings to earn the win against eventual national champion Augustana; the Vikings' lone postseason defeat.

Of the 28 previous Mulerider players selected in the MLB Draft, Starr's selection at No. 559 overall is the sixth-highest in the June draft and seventh-highest overall. He becomes the third SAU player taken by the Reds organization joining right-handed pitcher Brian Barr in 2003 (22nd RD | No. 651 OVR) and outfielder Keith Beam in 1987 (37th RD | No. 950 OVR).

White, a transfer junior from Dallas Baptist University, was selected in the June draft for the second time in his baseball career after being drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 32nd round (No. 956 OVR) of the 2014 MLB June Amateur First-Year Player Draft following his senior year of high school at Parkers Chapel (AR).

An All-Central Region Honorable Mention selection by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and an All-GAC Second-Team honoree, White's first year working out of the Mulerider bullpen was a productive one as the right-hander led the GAC in saves with nine in 18 appearances spanning 31.2 innings pitched. He finished 2018 with a 1.99 ERA and a 4-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio after collecting 44 strikeouts. Opponents hit a staff-low .146 off of him and he allowed only two extra base hits of just the 15 hits surrendered.

A native of El Dorado, Arkansas, White's selection at No. 767 overall makes him the 11th highest Mulerider taken in the MLB Draft. He is the second SAU player selected by the Phillies organization joining outfielder and fellow Union Country (AR) product Vince Holyfield in 1985 (3rd RD | No. 70 OVR).