Valencia High School alumni Cole Kleszcz and Saugus High School alumni Chase Wheatcroft were selected in the 33rd and 37th rounds of the 2019 MLB Draft on Wednesday.

Kleszcz, selected by the New York Mets in the 988th overall selection, has played with a number of programs over the course of his baseball career.

His journey began at Valencia High School, continuing there until he graduated in 2015 and joined College of the Canyons for the next two years, redshirting his freshman season.

Kleszcz had a strong outing in his second year, which saw him hit an impressive .410 batting average while blasting a Western State Conference (WSC), leading 18 home runs over the course of the season.

This performance helped earn Kleszcz recognition as a “Junior College All-American” and “WSC Player of the Year.”

Kleszcz was drafted in the 40th round of the 2017 MLB draft, but he opted to continue his collegiate career at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), where he then transferred.

After an underwhelming year at UCSB, Kleszcz transferred once again, this time to join the Azusa Pacific baseball program, where he seemingly rediscovered his mojo.

In his final collegiate season at Azusa Pacific, Kleszcz hit a .374 batting average while also driving in 63 RBIs and launching 27 home runs.

His choice to initially forgo his initial draft selection in 2017 seems to have paid off, as Kleszcz was selected seven rounds higher this time around.

Wheatcroft, selected by the Oakland A’s with the 1,124th overall selection, pitched his last season with California State University, Stanislaus, also known as Stanislaus State.

Before joining the Stanislaus State program, Wheatcroft played with Saugus High School, and then spent two years with COC’s baseball team.

In his final season with Stanislaus State, Wheatcroft went 5-2 with a 2.55 ERA and was an All-California Collegiate Athletic Association First-Team selection.

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