Red Sox Nation Takes Lavarnway in Sixth Round

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Portions courtesy of Yale Sports Publicity

Yale catcher Ryan Lavarnway (Woodland Hills, Calif.) was selected by the Boston Red Sox in Major League Baseball's annual First-Year Player Draft. Lavarnway, who has been consistently at the top of all batting and power categories, was selected in the sixth round as the 202nd overall pick.

Lavarnway was chosen with the final pick of the draft's first day. A Second Team All-Ivy and First Team All-New England choice, the catcher led the Ivy League with 13 home runs and 42 RBIs despite missing the last 11 games with a broken left wrist. He also led the Bulldogs with a .398 batting average. Last season, he earned Third Team All-America honors after leading the nation in batting average (.467) and slugging percentage (.873) while setting school records for home runs (14) and RBIs (55). Lavarnway is the Ivy League's all-time leader with 33 career home runs. He will report to Boston's facility in Fort Myers, Fla., but his playing status is uncertain because of his injury.

"I'm obviously excited," Lavarnway said. "This is something I've worked so hard for my entire life. It's a tremendous honor to get the opportunity to play professional baseball."

"Ryan was closely watched the entire year after having just a phenomenal sophomore year," Mazzuto Family Head Coach for Baseball John Stuper said. "He backed it up this year and was better in many ways. If he didn't get hurt, there's no way he would've still been on the board in the sixth round. I'm really proud of his development and advancement he's made. Ryan's one of the best we've ever had. He's the highest-drafted position player I've ever coached, which I think is saying something."

In all, eight current Ivy League players were selected in the MLB draft, along with an incoming freshman slated to play for the Dartmouth Big Green. Additionally, Princeton's Steve Miller has already signed a free agent contract with the Kansas City Royals.

Ryan Lavarnway, Yale (C) -- 202nd overall (6th rd), Boston
Brian Irving, Yale (P) -- 507th overall (17th rd), San Francisco
Damon Wright, Dart (OF) -- 747th overall (25th rd), San Francisco
Russell Young, Dart (P) -- 861st overall (28th rd), Cleveland
Spencer Lucian, Prin (3B) -- 950th overall (31st rd), N.Y. Yankees
Shawn Haviland, Harv (P) -- 994th overall (33rd rd), Oakland
Steve Gilman, Yale (P) -- 1,093rd overall (36th rd), Detroit
Christian Stahely, Prin (P) -- 1,182nd overall (39th rd), Seattle
Kyle Hendricks, HS (to Dart) -- 1,189th overall (39th rd), L.A. Angels

Following data compiled by: Brett Hoover, The Ivy League

Ivy Leaguers taken in the first 10 rounds of MLB's Primary June Draft

BY ROUND
Round 1 -- 1974: Bill Almon, Brown (ss); 1979: Mike Stenhouse, Harvard (p); 1981: Ron Darling, Yale (p); 1987: Mike Remlinger, Dartmouth (p); 1991: Doug Glanville, Penn (of)
Round 2 -- 1965: Richard Horton, Dartmouth (c); 1994: Dan Lock, Yale (p); 2003: Thomas Pauly, Princeton (p); 2004: B.J. Szymanski, Princeton (of)
Round 3 -- 2000: Chris Young, Princeton (p); 2001: Jon Steitz, Yale (p); 2002: Ben Crockett, Harvard (p)
Round 4 -- 1975: Jim Beattie, Dartmouth (p); 1987: Tom DeMerit, Dartmouth (of); 2004: Ross Ohlendorf, Princeton (p)
Round 5 -- 1987: Jim Chenevey, Harvard (p)
Round 6 -- 1966: Robert Welz, Harvard (1b); 1985: Jeff Musselman, Harvard (p); 2008: Ryan Lavarnway, Yale (c)
Round 7 -- 1992: Bob Bennett, Dartmouth (p); 1996: Mark DeRosa, Penn (3b); 2003: Chris Schutt, Cornell (p); 2004: Fernando Perez, Columbia (of); 2005: Will Venable, Princeton (of); 2007: Devin Thomas, Brown (c)
Round 8 -- 1968: Ed Goldstone, Yale (3b); 1986: Drew Stratton, Princeton (of); 2004: Ed Lucas, Dartmouth (ss)
Round 9 -- 1965: Theodore Friel, Dartmouth (p); 1977: Jamie Werly, Harvard (p); 1983: Steve Kordish, Princeton (p); 1992: Todd Carey, Brown (ss)
Round 10 -- 1973: Roswell Brayton, Harvard (p); 2001: Ben Crockett, Harvard (p); 2005: Josh Sowers, Yale (p)

CHRONOLOGICALLY
1965 -- Richard Horton, Dartmouth (c), second round; Theodore Friel, Dartmouth (p), ninth round
1966 -- Robert Welz, Harvard (1b), sixth round
1968 -- Ed Goldstone, Yale (3b), eighth round
1973 -- Roswell Brayton, Harvard (p), 10th round
1974 -- Bill Almon, Brown (ss), first round
1975 -- Jim Beattie, Dartmouth (p), fourth round
1977 -- Jamie Werly, Harvard (p), ninth round
1979 -- Mike Stenhouse, Harvard (p), first round
1981 -- Ron Darling, Yale (p), first round
1983 -- Steve Kordish, Princeton (p), ninth round
1985 -- Jeff Musselman, Harvard (p), sixth round
1986 -- Drew Stratton, Princeton (of), eighth round
1987 -- Mike Remlinger, Dartmouth (p), first round; Tom DeMerit, Dartmouth (of), fourth round; Jim Chenevey, Harvard (p), fifth round
1991 --- Doug Glanville, Penn (of), first round
1992 -- Bob Bennett, Dartmouth (p), seventh round; Todd Carey, Brown (ss), ninth round
1994 -- Dan Lock, Yale (p), second round
1996 -- Mark DeRosa, Penn (3b), seventh round
2000 -- Chris Young, Princeton (p), third round
2001 -- Jon Steitz, Yale (p), third round; Ben Crockett, Harvard (p), 10th round
2002 -- Ben Crockett, Harvard (p), third round
2003 -- Thomas Pauly, Princeton (p), second round; Chris Schutt, Cornell (p), seventh round
2004 -- B.J. Szymanski, Princeton (of), second round; Ross Ohlendorf, Princeton (p), fourth round; Fernando Perez, Columbia (of), seventh round; Ed Lucas, Dartmouth (ss), eighth round
2005 -- Will Venable, Princeton (of), seventh round; Josh Sowers, Yale (p), 10th round
2007 -- Devin Thomas, Brown (c), seventh round
2008 - Ryan Lavarnway, Yale (c), sixth round

BY SCHOOL
Brown -- 1974: Bill Almon, ss, first round; 1992: Todd Carey, ss, ninth round; 2007: Devin Thomas, c, seventh round
Columbia -- 2004: Fernando Perez, of, seventh round
Cornell -- 2003: Chris Schutt, p, seventh round
Dartmouth -- 1965: Richard Horton, c, second round; 1965: Theodore Friel, p, ninth round; 1975: Jim Beattie, p, fourth round; 1987: Mike Remlinger, p, first round; 1987: Tom DeMerit, of, fourth round; 1992: Bob Bennett, p, seventh round; 2004: Ed Lucas, ss, eighth round
Harvard -- 1966: Robert Welz, 1b, sixth round; 1973: Roswell Brayton, p, 10th round; 1977: Jamie Werly, p, ninth round; 1979: Mike Stenhouse, p, first round; 1985: Jeff Musselman, p, sixth round; 1987: Jim Chenevey, p, fifth round; 2001: Ben Crockett, p, 10th round; 2002: Ben Crockett, p, third round
Penn -- 1991: Doug Glanville, of, first round; 1996: Mark DeRosa, 3b, seventh round
Princeton -- 1983: Steve Kordish, p, ninth round; 1986: Drew Stratton, of, eighth round; 2000: Chris Young, p, third round; 2003: Thomas Pauly, p, second round; 2004: B.J. Szymanski, of, second round; 2004: Ross Ohlendorf, p, fourth round; 2005: Will Venable, of, seventh round
Yale -- 1968: Ed Goldstone, 3b, eighth round; 1981: Ron Darling, p, first round; 1994: Dan Lock, p, second round; 2001: Jon Steitz, p, third round; 2005: Josh Sowers, p, 10th round; 2008: Ryan Lavarnway, c, sixth round

- A.S.