HONOLULU — Hawaii Pacific University All-American senior left-hander Matthew Gunter was chosen by the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday in the annual Major League Baseball Draft. Gunter, the senior starting pitcher from Orangevale, California/Bella Vista, was selected with the 999th
HONOLULU — Hawaii Pacific University All-American senior left-hander Matthew Gunter was chosen by the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday in the annual Major League Baseball Draft.
Gunter, the senior starting pitcher from Orangevale, California/Bella Vista, was selected with the 999th overall pick in the 33rd round of the MLB Draft.
“We are so proud of Matt and wish him the best on his start in professional baseball,” said HPU Coach Garrett Yukumoto. “He has been our shining star this season.”
Gunter was selected to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association All-America Team as an honorable mention, after being a consensus selection as a First Team All-West Region starter by the NCBWA, D2CCA and ABCA/Rawlings teams.
He voted the PacWest Conference Pitcher of the Year and a First Team All-Pac West selection, and was named the NCBWA’s Division II West Region Pitcher of the Year.
Gunter went 6-4 on the season for the 20-28-2 Sharks with a 2.09 ERA, which ranked second among PacWest and West Region starting pitchers. He led the conference, the West Region and ranked 15th in NCAA Division II with an HPU program record 102 strikeouts. He notched double-digit strikeouts in six games, including a career-high 12 against Holy Names. He led the conference and region with five complete games and tossed a seven-inning no-hitter against University of Hawaii Hilo.
Gunter was twice named the PacWest Pitcher of the Week and was twice selected the NCBWA as the West Region Pitcher of the Week.
