DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Bethune-Cookman catcher/designated hitter Michael Cruz saw his name announced in the seventh round of the 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft on Friday, selected by the Chicago Cubs with the 224th overall pick.

Cruz, a 5-foot-11, 210-pound junior from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, led the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and finished the regular season in the top-15 nationally for home runs, completing the season with 16 overall. He was also third on the Wildcats squad with a .325 batting average, adding a team second-best 65 hits, 41 RBI's and scoring a team-high 50 runs. As both a catcher and designated hitter for the 2016 MEAC Champion Wildcats, Cruz was the only student-athlete on the squad to play and start in all 56 games.

Cruz finished the campaign being named to the All-MEAC First Team in his first year with the Maroon and Gold after transferring from Clarendon College. He is a product of the acclaimed Puerto Rico Baseball Academy and High School – a school that has sent a number of noteworthy names to B-CU throughout the years.

He becomes the first Wildcat drafted since Keith Zuniga, Montana Durapau and John Sever were taken in 2014. Zuniga went to the Florida Marlins organization, while Durapau and Sever went to the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.

Under the direction of head coach Jason Beverlin, Cruz becomes the fifth student-athlete drafted in his five-year span in Daytona Beach.

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