DENVER — One day after having the first overall selection, the University of Louisville baseball program had five student-athletes selected on Monday during the second day of the 2021 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
Alex Binelas was chosen in the third round and 86th overall by the Milwaukee Brewers. Cooper Bowman went 122nd overall in the fourth round by the New York Yankees. The Washington Nationals selected Michael Kirian in the sixth round with pick No. 173. Lucas Dunn and Luke Brown then went within four picks of each other, with Dunn going 250th overall in the eighth round to the San Diego Padres and Brown following at pick No. 253 in the ninth round to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The five selections come one day after Henry Davis became the first player in program history to be selected with the first overall pick.
The six picks through the first two days give Louisville 93 total draft selections during Dan McDonnell’s 15 seasons with the program.
Binelas was a mainstay in the middle of the Louisville lineup throughout his career posting a career .272 batting average with 33 home runs and 123 RBIs in 111 games. After a slow start to the 2021 season, Binelas took off in conference play and finished his sophomore season with 19 home runs and 63 RBIs, both of which ranked top-20 nationally. The Oak Creek, Wis., native was a two-time All-ACC selection and a Freshman All-American in 2019.
Bowman played just one season in a Louisville uniform after transferring from Iowa Western CC. In 2021, Bowman posted a .293 average with seven doubles, eight home runs and 42 rus scored. The Rapid City, S.D., native also finished second in the ACC with 20 stolen bases and earned All-Conference honors.
Kirian served in a variety of roles during his time with the Cardinals, working as a set-up reliever in 2019, a closer in 2020 and Louisville’s Friday night start for much of 2021. Kirian owns an 8-4 career record with 12 saves, striking out 144 hitters in just 119 innings.
A member of the USA Collegiate National Team in 2019, Dunn spent four seasons with the Cardinals. Dunn played six different positions for the Cardinals working at all three outfield spots, second base, shortstop and third base during his UofL career. Over four years, he turned in a .290 career average with 23 doubles, nine homers and 101 runs scored.
Brown spent a pair of years with the Cardinals after starting his career at Western Kentucky before moving on to John A. Logan College. Starting in centerfield each of the last two years, Brown hit .322 in 67 games with 18 doubles and four triples, while stealing 28 bases. Brown was Louisville’s leader in multi-hit games in 2021, finishing with 23.
The MLB Draft wraps up on Tuesday with the final 10 rounds. The final day begins with round 11 starting at noon ET.
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