MLB Draft Tracker
Previous Wagner Players in MLB Draft
Seahawks in the Pros

Staten Island, NY – Catcher Nick Dini (Monroe Township, NJ/Monroe Township) was selected in the 14th round by the Kansas City Royals while pitcher Nolan Long (Waterford, CT / South Kent) was chosen in the 16^th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers on day three of the Major League Baseball (MLB) Amateur Draft this afternoon.
 
Dini (429^th selection overall) and Long (492^nd overall), become the first Seahawks to be drafted since Ian Miller went in the 14^th round to the Seattle Mariners in 2013. This also marks just the second time in school history that Wagner has had two players selected in the same MLB draft. In 1980, left-handed pitcher Pat McAlarney was chosen in the 16^th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates while shortstop Domingo Nunez went in the 19^th round to the Minnesota Twins.

Dini is fresh off a dominant senior season where he became Wagner's first-ever Northeast Conference (NEC) Player of the Year. A First-Team All-NEC selection for the second straight year, after winning the league batting title with a .400 regular season average, the 5-9, 190-pound Dini was also named to the prestigious Louisville Slugger NCAA Division I All-American Third Team, as announced by the Collegiate Baseball newspaper.
 
In 2015, Dini, who also saw time at second base, helped the Seahawks qualify for their second consecutive NEC Tournament berth. In being named a Louisville Slugger All-American, Dini became the first Seahawk player in program history to be named to this honor. In addition, he became just the seventh player from the Northeast Conference (NEC) to be selected and first since right-handed pitcher Pat Light did so in 2012 when Monmouth University was still a member of the league.
 
The two-time Johnny Bench Award Watch List nominee finished the 2015 NEC regular season with an even .400 batting average, becoming just the second Seahawk to lead the circuit in hitting and first since 1993 when Jack Scholz claimed the batting title with a .418 average. 
 
On May 9 in the first game of a doubleheader vs. eventual NEC Tournament champion Sacred Heart, Dini smashed a two-run home run over the left-field wall at the Ballpark at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, CT that propelled him to the no. 1 spot on Wagner's all-time career hits list. The veteran backstop finished his career with 245 hits, in addition to becoming the program's all-time leader in at-bats (793), games played (215), and games started (215).
 
Long, who just completed his sophomore season, was originally selected by the San Francisco Giants in the 38^th round of the 2012 MLB Draft out of South Kent Prep. Long and Dini combine to become fourth-year head coach Jim Carone's 20th and 21st players drafted and sixth and seventh players under his tutelage at Wagner. 
 
Long, the 6'10" dual-sport athlete who is also a standout on the hardwood, struck out 53 batters on the season, 21 of whom went down looking.  In NEC play, Long held opposing batters to a .177 batting average while posting a 2.29 ERA in league play.  His 43 strikeouts in conference action led the circuit for the season en route to being named to the All-NEC First Team. 
 
On April 24, Long was particularly dominant against Central Connecticut as Wagner cruised to a 12-0 victory in the series opener against the Blue Devils.  The Waterford, CT native carried a no-hitter through the first 3.2 innings and concluded his day with six shutout innings, only allowing just one walk while fanning a career-high 13 batters on the afternoon.  The double-digit strikeout performance marked the first time a Seahawk pitcher had done so since March 27, 2010 when Jon Lucas recorded 10 strikeouts vs. LIU Brooklyn and tied Mike McTamney's mark of 13 set back on March 28, 2004.

Follow Wagner Athletics on Twitter and Instagram (@wagnerathletics) for all the latest news and updates on the athletic department and follow @WagBaseball on Twitter for news and updates on the baseball program.