Three Tulane Green Wave Players Selected in 2018 MLB Draft

The operations manager of New York’s G&G Duct Cleaning, John Gandolfo holds a bachelor’s degree in health and wellness from Tulane University, where he was a member of the school’s Division-I baseball team. During his time with Tulane, John Gandolfo earned first-team All-Conference honors and NCAA Coaches Association Player of the Week.

There have been 31 Tulane alumni to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) since 1907 and an additional three players will have a chance to add their name to that list after the 2018 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Grant Witherspoon, Will McAffer, and Kody Hoese were selected in the 40-round draft that concluded on June 6. An outfielder from Lakewood, Colorado, Witherspoon was selected in the fourth round by the Tampa Bay Rays. The first-team All-American led Tulane in almost every offensive category this past season and recorded 20 home runs and 114 runs batted in (RBI) to go along with a .301 batting average through three seasons with the team. He was the school’s highest draft pick since Jake Rogers was taken 97th overall in 2016.

McAffer, a junior right-handed pitcher, was selected in the 25th round by the Toronto Blue Jays. The North Vancouver, British Columbia native recorded 26 strikeouts through 28 and two-thirds innings this past season and registered two saves. Finally, Hoese, a third baseman from Griffith, Indiana, was picked in the 35th round by the Kansas City Royals. Through 58 games, he recorded five home runs, 34 RBI, and a .291 batting average.