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Last night, former Pittsburgh Panthers, catcher Giorgiana Zeremenko and infielder McKayla Taylor were selected in the inaugural American Softball Association (ASBA) draft.
As the 19th overall pick in the 2018 ASBA Draft, former Panther Giorgiana Zeremenko was selected by the E1 Pro Ballers!
— Pitt Softball (@Pitt_SB) June 6, 2018
Congrats, G! #riseUP pic.twitter.com/PRaU67pswC
Zeremenko was selected with the 19th overall pick, third pick in the fifth round. Based on the one mock draft that I saw posted, she went one pick higher than expected - pretty much spot-on. It’s worth noting that Zeremenko was the first catcher taken in the draft; a bulk of the first few rounds were pitchers, naturally.
As the 58th overall pick in the 2018 ASBA Draft, former Panther McKayla Taylor was selected by Outkast!
— Pitt Softball (@Pitt_SB) June 6, 2018
Congrats, McKayla! #riseUP pic.twitter.com/n8DuQqjuJM
Taylor was the 58th overall selection, which made her the second pick of the on-call portion of the draft. The mock pegged Taylor going 35th overall, the third pick in the eighth round. I am obviously biased here, she was the first Q&A I’ve ever done for the softball team, but I believe she should have gone much higher in the draft. Taylor brings positional flexibility in the infield, having played both short stop and third base; she’s the program’s all-time leader in assists. Not only is she a clutch hitter (remember the ACC Tournament), but Taylor also holds the program’s RBI record as well.
For full draft results, here is the link.
With all that said, both made history Wednesday night becoming the first two Pittsburgh Panthers to ever be drafted into a professional softball league, and it was the ASBA inaugural draft at that. Best of luck to both of them as they can now call themselves professionals in the sport!
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