June 8, 2007

Daytona Beach, Fla. - Senior outfielder Angel Mercado has been drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 23rd Round of the Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft on Friday as pick #717 overall. Mercado is the first player drafted from Bethune-Cookman since 2004 with Sebastien Boucher (Seattle Mariners), Juan Figueroa (Florida Marlins) and Mumba Rivera (Seattle Mariners).

Mercado, a 5-foot-11, 210-pound right fielder from Barranquitas, Puerto Rico, led the team in batting average (.404) while finishing second in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) in the same category. He was also in the top five in the league for several other categories including On Base Percentage (4th), Slugging Percentage (2nd), Runs Scored (t-5th), Hits (2nd) and Homeruns (t-3rd).

He was instrumental in B-CU's back-to-back MEAC titles, as well as finishing the year with hits in seven of the last 10 games for the Wildcats. Mercado was the only Wildcat player with multiple hits in the NCAA Tournament for both games against Florida State and Stetson.

Mercado becomes the second player from Bethune-Cookman to become a member of the San Diego Padres organization in as many years. Last year, Richard "RJ" Rodriguez inked a free agency contract with the Padres, and is currently a member of their AA team ... Eugene Emeralds. Rodriguez leads the team with 14 saves and a record of 2-3 overall with an ERA of 1.78 for the year.