June 5, 2018
By Megan Golden
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — University of Notre Dame juniors Matt Vierling and Nick Podkul were selected in the fifth and seventh rounds, respectively, in the Major League Baseball Draft on Tuesday. Vierling and Podkul became the 115th and 116th all-time Major League Baseball Draft picks in program history.
Outfielder Matt Vierling was selected by Philadelphia in the fifth round with the 137th overall pick. Vierling became the third draft pick out of Notre Dame by the Phillies all-time.
Hailing from Saint Louis, Missouri, Vierling hit .310 (65-210) with 38 runs and 43 RBI. Vierling, who received second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors in 2018, was one of two Irish players to connect for 10 homers, collecting 19 extra-base hits.
Vierling has started all 166 games throughout his Irish career, batting .300 (194-647) with 92 runs and 114 RBI in his career.
Second baseman Nick Podkul was drafted 206th overall by Toronto, becoming the seventh all-time Irish player to be selected by the Blue Jays and first since Cavan Biggio in 2016.
Podkul, a native of Schererville, Ind., received second-team All-ACC honors after batting .312 with eight homers and 24 extra-base hits this past season. Podkul finished the regular season ranked seventh in the ACC with a .439 on-base percentage, recording 35 walks in 2018.
In his three-year career, Podkul has hit .296 (162-548) with 90 runs and 71 RBI.
Shortstop Cole Daily was the 671st overall pick in the 22nd round by the Washington Nationals. He is the third pick by the Nationals since they moved to Washington, joining three picks by the franchise as the Montreal Expos.
Daily hit .268 this season while starting all 54 games at shortstop. He committed just seven errors at short, while helping turn 33 double plays. He also led the team in stolen bases, successfully swiping 14 bags in 19 attempts.
Vierling and Podkul bring the Irish to a total of 10 draft selections over the past three seasons.
Day three of the MLB Draft continues on Wednesday, beginning with the 11th round at noon ET.
For a behind-the-scenes look at the Irish baseball program, follow @NDBaseball on Twitter and @NotreDameBaseball on Instagram. For tickets to an Irish baseball game, click here.
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Megan Golden, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since August of 2016. In her role, she coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame baseball and women’s soccer programs. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Golden is a 2014 graduate of Saint Mary’s College and former Irish women’s basketball manager. Prior to arriving at Notre Dame, she worked in public relations with the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox.