One day after presumably his final college game, Georgia Tech pitcher Jed Bradley stood to become a wealthy man.
Bradley, a junior pitcher for the Yellow Jackets, was selected 15th overall Monday by the Milwaukee Brewers in the first round of the major league baseball draft. He became Tech's 10th first-round pick and its second in as many years following Deck McGuire going 11th to Toronto last season.
"He wasn't that heavily recruited; he just developed and so you give him a lot of credit for just working hard to develop," Tech coach Danny Hall said.
Bradley's selection came a little less than 24 hours after the Jackets' season ended in an NCAA regional home loss to Mississippi State.
By coincidence, last year's 15th pick was Jake Skole of Blessed Trinity High. Skole, the younger brother of Tech star Matt Skole, had signed to play football and baseball at Tech but took the Texas Rangers' $1.5 million signing bonus to go the pro baseball route.
Hall has said, given Bradley's expected high draft position, that he doesn't expect him to return for his senior season.
Bradley shined for the Jackets this season as their No. 2 starter. He was 7-3 with a 3.49 ERA and held opponents to a .239 batting average. Besides being a lefthander with a 6-foot-4 frame, scouts liked his command of three pitches and solid pitching mechanics.
"Just a lot of things that he has that are hard to come by and now he's just got to go perform and prove it at the next level," Hall said.
Two of Bradley's teammates, pitcher Mark Pope and third baseman Matt Skole, are expected to go early when rounds 2-30 are conducted Tuesday. Hall expects both to forego their senior season also.
Bradley could not be reached for comment.
