Ben Morrison

Ben Morrison’s Las Vegas vacation got a little better Tuesday evening when the phone rang.

Sitting poolside at Mandalay Bay, the Western Kentucky right-handed pitcher got the call sooner than expected.

The Los Angeles Angels selected the Bowling Green native Morrison in the 10th round of the 2018 MLB Draft with the 301st overall pick Tuesday evening. The Major League Baseball club chose Morrison at 5:18 p.m. CDT, with only 13 picks remaining on the second day of the draft.

“It’s been really exciting and I’m just overwhelmed right now with all the support and texts and everything that has come my way,” Morrison told the Daily News in a phone interview. “It’s pretty wild right now.”

Morrison is the 55th player drafted in WKU program history, the 13th-highest Hilltopper taken in program history and the 20th WKU player drafted in the past 10 years.

“I was definitely hoping I would get the call, but I don’t think the 10th round was really on my radar,” Morrison said. “That’s pretty incredible. Just grateful for the Angels for giving me a shot. I’m going to do my best.”

Morrison was the fourth player from Conference USA selected in the 2018 Draft, behind FAU infielder Tyler Frank (second round to the Tampa Bay Rays), Southern Miss righty Nick Sandlin (second round to the Cleveland Indians) and Rice infielder Ford Proctor (third round to the Tampa Bay Rays). To cap the 10th round, Charlotte lefty Josh Maciejewski was taken 307th overall by the New York Yankees, with Southern Miss infielder Luke Reynolds to follow as the 308th pick to the Chicago Cubs.

The Hilltoppers’ most recent draft pick was third baseman Danny Hudzina, who was taken 316th overall in the 10th round of the 2016 MLB Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. Morrison will join Hudzina, outfielder Anderson Miller (third round in 2015) and righty Andrew Edwards (19th round in 2013) as active WKU players in minor league baseball.

“I’m obviously very excited for Ben and all the hard work and effort he’s put into it,” WKU baseball coach John Pawlowski said. “A wonderful student and has a wonderful opportunity. He’s going to put off going to medical school to see what he can do with this baseball deal. He had a great year for us coming back from an injury and has worked extremely hard and it’s great to see the reward and given the opportunity to play professional baseball.”

Upon signing his deal with Los Angeles, Morrison will become the 107th Hilltopper player to sign a professional contract. MLB’s assigned value for the 301st overall pick is $139,100.

Morrison is the second Warren County native selected by the Angels since 2013. Warren East pitcher Hunter Green was picked in the second round by Los Angeles in 2013, but played just eight games in rookie league before his career ended with an injury.

In his senior season, Morrison had a 1.29 earned run average with 31 strikeouts across 28 innings in C-USA action, allowing only 20 hits for a .189 batting average against. His 2.21 ERA overall across 36 2/3 frames ranks second among Hilltoppers pitchers (with 35-plus innings) dating back to at least 2005.

He also had a career-high seven saves, as he earned a spot on the 2018 All-C-USA Second Team as a reliever. WKU finished with a 21-31 overall record and an 11-18 mark in C-USA play.

“Coming into the season I wanted to have a good senior year and just pitch well and help our team win,” Morrison said. “The results came with that. To have the opportunity to play is overwhelming and I’m super grateful for it.”

Morrison missed his junior season with a shoulder injury. Considering the setback and what he accomplished his senior year, Pawlowski said it made the 10th round selection that much more special.

“It shows how hard you have to work to get back to where you want to be,” Pawlowski said. “It’s a lot of time and a lot of effort going into it. There’s a lot of people involved in it, not just Ben. It’s a team effort and certainly the team did a great job getting him back on the field. Once he got back, we saw him starting to continue to develop and get back to where he was.

“Certainly had a lot to overcome and the reward was there and I’m happy for him.”

Morrison was a CoSIDA Academic All-District and Conference USA All-Academic Team selection in 2018. He graduated with a perfect 4.0 GPA studying Biology (Pre-Med) with triple minors in Biophysics, Chemistry and Entrepreneurship. He was also a member of the WKU Honors College and a part of the WKU Fellowship of Christian Athletes leadership team.

A redshirt senior in athletic standing, Morrison made the WKU President’s List all 10 semesters on campus and earned the C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Medal every season. Morrison has been accepted to the University of Kentucky for medical school, and has volunteered at the local Bowling Green Medical Center to prepare for a potential career in medicine.

A 2013 graduate of BGHS, Morrison was a four-year letterwinner and a three-year starter for the Purples’ baseball team as an outfielder, earning All-District 14 honors his junior and senior seasons. He earned All-State honors in 2013 after batting .401 with two home runs.

Former WKU baseball coach Matt Myers, who recruited Morrison out of Bowling Green High School, expressed what a pleasure it was to watch Morrison develop into a closing pitcher.

“I told Ben congratulations and how proud I was of him,” said Myers, now the coach at BGHS. “An outfielder primarily in high school, he made the transition to pitcher full time and flourished. Ben worked so hard to perfect his craft and to become the dominant closer that he is. So happy for him to have this opportunity. Not only is he an outstanding pitcher, but Ben is a better human being.”{&end}