Bethune Cookman senior Anthony Maldonado was the first Historically Black College and University (HBCU) Baseball player taken in the 2019 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft when he was selected in the 11th round (No. 321 overall pick), by the Miami Marlins.
Maldonado is the second Wildcat taken by the Marlins in the past two years. Demetrius Sims was taken in the 2017 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Bethune Cookman has had at least one player picked in each of the past 4 of 5 MLB Drafts dating back to 2014.
This past season, Maldonado sported a 3.76 earned run average, 4-5 as a starter, threw 81.1 innings while striking out 97 batters and limited opponents to a .207 batting average.
Maldonado was a three year starter for the Wildcats and posted an18-11 record with 232 strikeouts. He made Black College Nines’ HBCU Baseball First-Team All-Elite team in 2017 and 2018 along with being named MEAC 2018 Pitcher of the Year.