News and Events

press releases

Three Waves Selected in 2009 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft

Newman

Pepperdine seniors Nick Gaudi, Nathan Newman, and Nate Simon were drafted during day two of the 2009 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Approximately 140 Waves have been selected in the draft since 1966, including 25 student-athletes over the last six seasons while under the guidance of head coach Steve Rodriguez.

Newman, a right-handed pitcher, was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 17th round. He also was drafted in the 10th round of last year’s draft by the Seattle Mariners, but opted to return to Pepperdine for his senior season.

Newman posted a 3-5 win-loss record in his final year as a Wave with 79 strikeouts and a 5.12 earned-run average (ERA). His season highlights included a career-high 11 strikeouts vs. Chicago State at home on March 20, and a 10-strikeout performance against Santa Clara on Senior Day.

Newman played his first year of college ball at Tulane University in 2006 and then transferred to Grayson County College for the 2007 campaign. In two full years at Pepperdine, Newman went 11-9, recorded 149 strikeouts and was a 2008 All-West Coast Conference First Team honoree. He recorded his 100th D-1 strikeout in a 15-5 win over Evansville on March 6.

Newman is the tenth Wave to be drafted by Detroit, joining a list that includes Rob Picciolo, 1994 first-rounder Cade Gaspar, and current Tigers’ farmhand Danny Worth. Former Wave Dane Sardinha is currently part of the Tigers’ 25-man roster as their catcher.

Simon

Simon’s name was called 10 rounds later by the Florida Marlins, making him only the second Wave (Chris Sheff, 1992) to be drafted by the two-time World Series Champions. Simon is known to Pepperdine fans as a power-hitting corner outfielder, but the Marlins opted to draft him as a second baseman – a position he’s familiar with from his two years at Tulane University (2006-07).

An All-WCC First Team selection, Simon completed 2009 with a .317 batting average, seven stolen bases and a team-leading nine home runs and 51 RBIs. He also totaled 99 bases on the strength of nine doubles and two triples, giving him a .532 slugging percentage.

Simon ranked among the WCC leaders in most offensive categories and was selected as its Player of the Week after batting .636 with a home run and seven RBIs against Saint Mary’s College. Other highlights from Simon’s senior season included a grand slam to deep right field against Loyola Marymount, a pair of game-tying home runs in an Opening Day win over Cal State Northridge, and a 10th-inning walk-off blast versus the Matadors two days later on Feb. 22.

Simon recorded a career high nine-game hitting streak during the start of the conference season (3/29 – 4/15), in which he batted .516 (16-for-31) with three doubles, two home runs, 12 RBIs, six runs scored, and a .806 slugging percentage. He finished conference play with a .357 batting average, which was second on team to freshman Brian Humphries (.371).

Gaudi was the Los Angeles Dodgers’ final selection of the afternoon, drafted by his favorite team in the 30th round. Los Angeles currently claims two former Waves on its major-league roster, pitchers Randy Wolf and Will Ohman, although neither was originally drafted by the Dodgers.

Of the eight former Waves drafted by the Dodgers, only two reached the major leagues, but with different teams. Left-handed pitcher Doug Simons was taken with the Dodgers’ 45th round pick in 1987, but didn’t see the big leagues until 1991 when he was with the New York Mets. Second baseman Matt Howard was taken in the 34th round by the Dodgers during the 1989 draft and cracked the majors several years later wearing New York Yankee pinstripes.

Gaudi

Gaudi, a former walk-on who became one of the Waves’ most dominating closing pitchers within a five-year span, was one of Pepperdine’s most decorated ball players over the past two seasons. During his junior and senior years, the right-hander posted an overall record of 10-4 to go along with 24 saves and 84 strikeouts.

He registered nine saves this season, which tied him for the conference lead and earned him a spot on the All-WCC First Team for the second consecutive year. The 2009 NCBWA and Collegiate Baseball News Preseason All-American also was tabbed to the 2009 Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List and was nominated for the prestigious Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award.

In his final appearance on the mound against the Broncos on Senior Day, Gaudi established a career high with six strikeouts over four innings and watched Pepperdine rally for a 3-2 extra-inning victory on Colin Rooney’s walk-off home run in the 11th.

Click here for more information on the Pepperdine Baseball program, visit sports.pepperdine.edu.