HARRISBURG -- Lancaster Catholic grad Travis Jankowski was selected by the San Diego Padres with the 44th overall pick Monday night in the supplemental first round of the 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
Jankowski, a junior centerfielder at Stony Brook, is now his university's first-ever first-round selection.
The draft call capped off one of the best nights of Jankowski's life.
Stony Brook also beat UCF 10-6 on Monday night; winning the Coral Gables Regional of the NCAA Tournament to advance to the Super Regionals for the first time ever.
"I don't know, it must be something with the fours," said an excited Jankowski from Coral Gables, Florida, during a brief phone conversation with CBS 21 News Sports Director Jason Bristol. "Because the fourth-seed (Stony Brook) won; the forty-fourth overall pick. I might play the lottery tonight and put some money on the number four."
Jankowski also told Bristol the Padres had shown a considerable amount of interest in him leading up to the draft. He has until July 13 to sign per major league rules.
Jankowski has been one of the nation's best hitters this season for Stony Brook; batting .420 with five home runs, 45 RBI, 10 triples, 16 doubles, 35 stolen bases and 73 runs scored through Sunday.
He went 1-4 with a RBI, two walks and a stolen base Monday in the win over UCF.
His draft stock soared after an incredible 2011 season both at Stony Brook and in the Cape Cod League, the nation's premier summer league for amateur players. Swinging a wood bat, Jankowski hit .329 with a league-leading 57 hits, 31 runs and seven triples for the Bourne Braves and earned Cape Cod League MVP honors.
He is currently on the watch list for the Golden Spikes Award, given to the nation's top player.
Jankowski is only the second player from an America East institution to be drafted in the first round, joining Northeastern's Carlos Pena, who was selected 10th overall in 1998.
The Padres have some history drafting local players; San Diego selected Hershey's Kellen Kulbacki with the 40th overall pick of the 2007 draft and chose Mark Phillips of Hanover ninth overall in 2000.
Some video used in this story was provided by America East. Some information used in this story is courtesy of Stony Brook University.
