19 collegiate prospects who played for WCCBL clubs were selected in the 2006 MLB June draft held Tuesday, June 6 and Wednesday, June 7. The first collegian with experience playing with a WCCBL club selected in this year’s draft was Pac-10 Player of the Year Cole Gillespie of Oregon State. Gillespie was picked in the 3rd round by the Milwaukee Brewers. Cole starred for Wenatchee in 2004 as Gillespie earned a team triple crown leading the Sox in average, HR and RBI. The next WCCBLer selected was the Kelowna Falcons power hitting corner man Chris Davis of Navarro College (TX). The sophomore was picked by the Texas Rangers in the 5th round. Davis tied for the 2005 WCCBL lead in HR with 5 and RBI with 29. Other top 10 round selections were Aloha’s Kevin Gunderson of Oregon State and Bud Norris of Cal Poly SLO. Gunderson was selected in the 5th round by the Atlanta Braves and WCCBL first-teamer Bud Norris was picked in the 6th round by the Houston Astros.

Prior to the draft, the WCCBL’s MVP and its Pitcher of the Year, Steve Marquardt of Wenatchee and Tommy Hanson of Aloha, signed respectively with the Texas Rangers and Atlanta Braves.

The Aloha Knights of Gresham, who posted the league’s second best inaugural regular season mark with a 27-9 record, were the WCCBL club most represented in the draft as 9 Knights’ alums were chosen. The Bellingham Bells and Kelowna Falcons were the next most represented as 3 players from each team were drafted.

2006 WCCBL MLB Draft Picks:

Player / College Team / WCCBL Team / Pro Team / Round

Cole Gillespie / Oregon State / Wenatchee / Milwaukee / 3rd
Chris Davis / Navarro College (JC) / Kelowna / Texas / 5th
Kevin Gunderson / Oregon State / Aloha / Atlanta / 5th
Bud Norris / Cal Poly SLO / Aloha / Houston / 6th
Matt Lane / Univ. of Washington / Aloha / Toronto / 11th
Zach Clem / Univ. of Washington / Bellingham / Milwaukee / 11th
Eric Stolp / Univ. of the Pacific / Aloha / San Francisco / 14th
Tyler Graham / Oregon State / Bend / San Francisco / 19th
Chris Kunda / Oregon State / Bend / New York Yankees / 19th
Josh McLaughlin / College of Charleston / Kelowna / Oakland / 20th
Kevan Kelley / Cal State San Bernandino / Bellingham / Florida / 22nd
Nick Waechter / Western Oregon / Aloha / New York Mets / 23rd
Kyle Parker / Univ. of Washington / Aloha / Seattle / 24th
Shannon Wirth / L-C State / Aloha / Texas / 32nd
Haley Winter / UC Riverside / Aloha / Seattle / 40th
Kyle Paul / Vernon College (JC) / Kelowna / Cleveland / 41st
DJ Lidyard / Lower Columbia College (JC) / Bellingham / Milwaukee / 43rd
Patrick Donovan / Gonzaga / Wenatchee / Texas / 50th
Darrell Fisherbaugh / Univ. of Hawaii / Aloha / Boston / 50th