51 collegiate prospects that played for WCCBL clubs were selected in the 2009 MLB June draft held Tuesday, June 9 through Thursday, June 11. The first West Coast League pick was 2007 league strikeout leader James Paxton of Kentucky. Paxton pitched for Kelowna. The lefty went 3-5 with a 2.95 ERA over 11 starts while striking out 62 for the Falcons. Paxton went 5-3 this past spring and struck out 115 over 78 1/3 innings pitched. James was the 37th overall pick of the draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. The next highest WCL alum selection was A.J. Morris of Kansas State, the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year. Morris, who pitched last summer for Moses Lake, went in the 4th round and was taken by the Washington Nationals.

The Corvallis Knights were the WCL club most represented in the draft as 14 Knights’ alums were chosen including All-Pac 10 pitcher Matt Way (pictured) of Washington State. The Bend Elks and Wenatchee AppleSox were the next most represented WCL teams with 9 draftees.

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

James Paxton / Kentucky / Kelowna / Toronto / 1st
AJ Morris / Kansas State / Moses Lake / Washington / 4th
Daryl Cecilani / Columbia Basin College / Bend / New York Mets / 4th
Matt Way / Washington State / Corvallis / Philadelphia / 5th
Kyle Conley / Washington / Wenatchee / St. Louis / 7th
Brian Pearl / Univ. of Washington / Bend / Cincinnati / 9th
Paul Applebee / UC Riverside / Bellingham / Washington / 10th
Vinny Catricala / Univ. of Hawaii / Wenatchee / Seattle / 10th
Tyson Van Winkle / Gonzaga / Spokane / Arizona / 10th
Matt Montgomery / UC Riverside / Kelowna / Florida / 10th
Jake Locker / Univ. of Washington / Bellingham / Los Angeles Angels / 10th
John Eshleman / San Jacinto College / Corvallis / San Francisco / 11th
Kirk Wetmore / Bellevue CC / Moses Lake / Cleveland / 11th
Dillon Baird / Arizona / Wenatchee / Los Angeles Angels / 11th
Sean Halton / Lewis-Clark State College / Bellingham / Milwaukee / 13rd
Blake Keitzman / Western Oregon / Corvallis / Seattle / 15th
Sean Nicol / Univ. of San Diego / Wenatchee / Washington / 16th
Daniel Bibona / UC Irvine / Corvallis / St. Louis / 16th
Jorge Reyes / Oregon State / Moses Lake / San Diego / 17th
Steven Ames / Gonzaga / Wenatchee / Los Angeles Dodgers / 17th
Kraig Sitton / Oregon State / Spokane / Boston / 17th
Carl Uhl / UC Riverside / Spokane / Philadelphia / 18th
Nick Akins / Vanguard / Corvallis / Los Angeles Dodgers / 19th
Matt Fields / Gonzaga / Wenatchee / Toronto / 22nd
Jason Erickson / Univ. of Washington / Bend / Pittsburgh / 24th
Alex Burg / Washington State / Corvallis / San Francisco / 24th
Joey Wong / Oregon State / Bend / Colorado / 24th
Eric Massingham / Cal Poly / Corvallis / Philadelphia / 25th
Kevin Castner / Cal Poly / Corvallis / Texas / 26th
Ryan Platt / UC Riverside / Corvallis / Milwaukee / 27th
Derek Poppert / Univ. of San Francisco / Bend / Cincinnati / 28th
Brian Budrow / Utah / Bend / Arizona / 28th
Jason Braun / Corban College / Bend / Cincinnati / 29th
Jared Eskew / Cal Poly / Corvallis / Florida / 29th
Wande Olabisi / Stanford / Kelowna / San Diego / 30th
Shane Carlson / UC Santa Barbara / Bend / Cincinnati / 32nd
Greg Peavey / Oregon State / Corvallis / Houston / 32nd
Alex Besaw / Skagit Valley College / Bellingham / Tampa Bay / 32nd
Hawkins Gebbers / Biola / Wenatchee / Seattle / 33rd
Jon Berger / San Diego State / Corvallis / San Diego / 33rd
Jared Prince / Washington State / Corvallis / Texas / 34th
Jimmy Patterson / Central Arizona College / Wenatchee / Boston / 34th
AJ Proszek / Gonzaga / Spokane / San Francisco / 38th
Jorden Merry / Univ. of Washington / Wenatchee / Seattle / 40th
Ryan Lee / Cal Poly / Kelowna / Chicago Cubs / 41st
Steven Sultzbaugh / Rice / Corvallis / Milwaukee / 41st
Matt Stabelfeld / Lewis-Clark State College / Bellingham / Tampa Bay / 41st
Stephen Hagen / Eastern Oklahoma State / Kelowna / Seattle / 42nd
DJ Gentile / Cal Poly / Bend / Cleveland / 43rd
Brian Heere / Kansas / Kitsap / Boston / 48th
Jake Rife / Univ. of Washington / Bend / Los Angeles Angels / 48th