NEW YORK CITY – Parker Phillips and pitcher Greg Leban, of the Austin Peay State University baseball team, saw their names on the draft board during Day 3 of the 2019 Major League Baseball Draft, which concluded Wednesday. In addition, Governors fall signee Ryan Ritter was selected during the day's action.

Phillips and Leban become the 46th and 47th Governors selected in the MLB draft in program history. They are the 18th and 19th with Austin Peay ties to be selected since 2010.

Phillips, of Collierville, Tennessee, was selected in the 27th round of the 2019 MLB Draft by the Minnesota Twins. It is the earliest a Governors player had been selected in the draft since 2016 when both Ridge Smith and Logan Gray were selected in the first 13 rounds.

Listed on the draft board as a first baseman, Phillips has shown versatility during his Governors career also playing right field and catcher in his first three seasons. He has one year of collegiate eligibility remaining after redshirting his first season in Clarksville. The redshirt junior was awarded his bachelor's degree in May.

Phillips was a Collegiate Baseball Second-Team All-American selection after earning his first First-Team All-OVC honor this season which he followed with OVC All-Tournament recognition. He ended the 2019 campaign leading the OVC with 25 home runs, setting the Govs single-season record, a .732 slugging percentage and was tied for the league lead with 64 RBI. Among Division I players, Phillips was ranked second in home runs, 12th in slugging percentage and 24th in RBI when his season came to an end.

Leban, of Bellevue, Washington, was selected in the 31st round of the draft by the Atlanta Braves. The Govs setup man in 2019, his 28 appearances were tied for the team high and his 3.50 ERA was best among Govs relievers and he recorded 64 strikeouts in 36 innings pitched.

Closing his final season with a flourish, Leban notched 30 of his strikeouts in his final 14.2 innings pitched – or 30 of the 44 outs in that closing span. That stretch included striking out six batters in two innings at Eastern Illinois, May 10, followed by five strikeouts in another two-inning outing against the Panthers two days later. Leban recorded 83 strikeouts in 54 innings pitched during his two-year career.

Ritter, of Tinley Park, Illinois, was picked by the Chicago Cubs in the 33rd round of the draft. A shortstop, he helped lead Lincoln-Way East... Click here to read full article

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