GREENVILLE — East Carolina senior catcher Zach Wright was selected in the 12th round by the Los Angeles Angels Tuesday afternoon during the second day of the 2012 Major League Baseball First Year Amateur Player Draft.
Wright, the lone Pirate selected in rounds one through 15, closed out his collegiate career earning second-team All-Conference USA honors after batting .294 (62-for-211) with five home runs, 12 doubles, 39 RBI and a team-best 41 runs. The three-time Johnny Bench Award Watch List member swiped a career-high 10 bases, collected 15 multi-hit and 11 multi-RBI games, while recording five game-winning RBI.
During his four-year career, the Goldsboro, N.C. native batted .279 (176-for-630) with 35 home runs, which ranks seventh all-time on ECU’s home runs chart. He started 171 of 194 games played, roped 38 doubles, had 133 RBI and scored 134 runs.
Following a stellar junior season where he earned second-team All C-USA honors after batting .272 (62-for-228) and leading the club in home runs (13), runs (47), slugging percentage (.518), total bases (118) and walks (34), Wright was selected in the sixth round of the 2011 MLB Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies (pick 211).
With Wright’s selection by the Angels, East Carolina has had at least one player selected in the last 16 MLB Draft’s dating back to 1997.