Though UCLA lost the Los Angeles Regional in the 2011 NCAA Baseball Tournament over the weekend, it is a great time for Bruins baseball. UCLA's top two starting pitchers were drafted in the first three picks of the 2011 MLB Draft. As expected, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected right-handed pitcher Gerrit Cole with the first overall pick, and the Arizona Diamondbacks took right-hander Trevor Bauer two picks later.
↵Cole displaced Tim Leary, who went number two overall to the Mets in 1979, as the highest UCLA Bruin ever drafted. In addition, Cole and Bauer accomplished a rare feat. Per Jim Callis of Baseball America, Cole and Bauer tied for the highest drafted teammates ever, tying Bob Horner and Hubie Brooks of Arizona State in the 1978 draft.
↵Cole was 6-8 with a 3.31 ERA, but is thought to have the prototypical pitchers' body and was loved by most scouts. Bauer won the 2011 NCAA Player of the Year, as he was 13-2 with a 1.25 ERA and a Pac-10 record 203 strikeouts this season.
↵For more UCLA baseball news and information, be sure to read the SB Nation blog Bruins Nation.