SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State baseball program currently has five former players in Major League Baseball organizations after Blake Bass, Dillon Becker, Steve Naemark and Cody Semler each signed professional contracts following the Rams advancing to the NCAA Division II College World Series this season.

Bass was selected in the eighth round of the MLB Draft by the Texas Rangers and has been assigned to the Spokane Indians who are a Class A Short Season team in the Northwest League. Naemark and Becker have both decided to sign and forgo their senior seasons after being selected in the MLB Draft. Becker was drafted in the 16th round by the New York Mets, while Naemark was selected by the Houston Astros following his All-American junior season. Becker, who pitched two seasons for the Rams, will start his career with the Kingsport Mets and Naemark was assigned to the Greeneville Astros before being promoted to the Tri-City Valleycats after two appearances. Naemark had a save and three strikeouts for Greeneville before being called up to the Valleycats who are a Class A Short Season team in the New York-Penn League.

Jason Zgardowski is the fifth player currently playing at the professional level and recently was moved up by the Philadelphia Phillies to the Williamsport Crosscutters which is a Class A short-season team in the New York-Penn League. Zgardowski, who signed a free agent contract with the Phillies last summer to forgo his senior season, currently has 30 strikeouts in 33 2/3 innings of work. A 6-foot-5 right-handed pitcher from San Antonio, he started his pro career last summer with the GCL Phillies before pitching for the Lakewood BlueClaws this summer. He was 1-1 with 20 strikeouts in 23 2/3 innings in Lakewood before moving up.

Semler signed a free agent contract with the Tampa Bay Rays and will start his professional career with the Gulf Coast League Rays. The GCL Rays are in a rookie ball league and play out of Port Charlotte, Florida.  

"Every kid when they start playing this game has the goal to play in Major League Baseball," ASU head coach Kevin Brooks said. "Each of these guys are really talented and have worked really hard to take this next step in the journey towards achieving that goal. It's a difficult road, but I can see each of them making it. We got to see them compete here at Angelo State and we saw the type of people they are. We're going to be following their progress really close and will always be among their biggest supporters."

Bass was selected by the Rangers in the eighth round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft to become the highest drafted player in ASU program history. He was also the first Angelo State pitcher to be drafted and the first Ram to be selected by the Rangers.

"I'm really ecstatic right now about getting drafted and having this opportunity," Bass said. "I had no idea what was going to happen in this draft, so to go in the eighth round and to the Texas Rangers is really exciting. I talked to a lot of teams and had a workout with the Rangers last week, but I didn't know what to expect. This is all just unbelievable to me right now."

Bass is coming off a senior season where he went 10-3 with 106 strikeouts and a 2.22 ERA through 105 1/3 innings of work. He earned Daktronics All-America and Capital One CoSIDA Academic All-America honors along with earning ABCA/Rawlings All-South Central and Lone Star Conference first-team honors. A 6-foot-7 right-handed pitcher from Lubbock, Bass went 14-7 in two seasons at Angelo State after transferring from Texas Tech where he was a positional player. He finished his ASU career with 145 strikeouts and a 2.43 ERA in 30 appearances and 181 1/3 innings. Bass averaged 6 2/3 innings per start during his senior season where he had the 106 strikeouts which ranks second all-time in program history. Bass recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts in a win over Eastern New Mexico and also had 10 strikeouts in a victory over Tarleton State through six innings. Bass was named to the LSC All-Tournament Team after striking out eight through eight scoreless innings against the Texans to secure his 10th win of the season.

"His velocity has continued to improve over the past two years as he's focused on becoming a pitcher," Brooks said. "Blake is a guy that I know still has a lot of potential in there. He's only at the beginning of what he can become as a pitcher. He throws a great fastball and has a big-time sinker that keeps the ball on the ground when guys are able to hit it. He also has a really good slider and his change-up continued getting better throughout last season. He has a really high ceiling and his work ethic can get him there."

Naemark went 11-1 and finished the season second in the nation with 138 strikeouts along with establishing a new Lone Star Conference record with a 1.37 ERA. A junior left-hander from Tucson, Arizona, Naemark allowed only 19 earned runs and walked only 23 batters in 125 innings this season. Naemark has one year of collegiate eligibility remaining, but he said he will sign with the Astros in the next couple of days and begin pursuing his professional aspirations.

"It's just a really magical feeling that I have right now about getting drafted," Naemark said. "I'm back home right now and had my dad right next to me when they announced that I was drafted. He's been my biggest fan since I was 5 and picked up a baseball for the first time. To be able to have this experience and to give him a hug and say 'thanks' is really incredible. Every day you play baseball as a kid this is the dream and today was amazing because it is all real."

Naemark, who established a new single-season record at ASU with his 138 strikeouts, was named to the ABCA/Rawlings, Daktronics, NCBWA All-American teams along with earning LSC Pitcher of the Year, NCBWA South Central Pitcher of the Year, Daktronics South Central Pitcher of the Year and was a three-time LSC Pitcher of the Week and earned one NCBWA National Pitcher of the Week honor. He was also named the Lone Star Conference Athlete of the Year which is an award that spans all sports.

"I have no doubt that Steve will make it to the pinnacle," Brooks said. "He has the velocity and the command to pitch at any level. He's a winner and competes with every pitch that he throws. Anyone who has seen him pitch knows that you should never count him out. He's the most incredible competitor that I've ever coached."

Naemark, who transferred to ASU this season after pitching at Cochise College for two seasons, finished the season having thrown 16 scoreless innings after earning a win over Wilmington at the NCAA Division II College World Series where he threw eight scoreless innings after throwing a complete-game victory over St. Mary's where he shut the Rattlers out over the final eight innings for a 5-2 victory after surrendering the two runs in the first inning. Naemark did not allow an earned run in nine appearances this season and limited opponents to a .204 batting average through his 125 innings. His junior season is one that obliterated pitching program and conference records. His first record came in the beginning of the season when he needed only seven innings to strike out 15 for the single-game record and he also had double-digit strikeout performances against Lubbock Christian (12) and Eastern New Mexico (11). Along with his strikeout record, his 1.37 ERA set a new conference and program record. He limited right-handed hitters to a .197 average (73-for-370) held opponents to a .193 average (29-for-150) with two outs. Naemark had six or more strikeouts in 15 of his 18 starts and never walked more than three in a game.

Becker went 8-2 with five saves during his junior season for the Rams where he limited the opposition to a .187 batting average through 41 2/3 innings of work. A 6-foot-3 right-handed pitcher from Bastrop, Becker had a 2.38 ERA with 60 strikeouts in 30 appearances from the bullpen in his second season at ASU. Opponents managed only 28 hits through his 41 2/3 innings and he had 22 appearances where he did not allow a run – including his final four appearances which came in the NCAA Division II postseason.

"He has worked really hard here at Angelo State and has developed into a great pitcher," Brooks said. "He's only pitched a couple of years and has reached the level he's at right now because of his hard work and dedication to be the best pitcher he can be. He's a guy that goes to the field every day to improve and will need to continue having that mentality to reach all of his goals. The biggest thing for him is that he throws really hard and has an unbelievable slider. Those are two things that Major League pitchers have and he's got them."

Becker, who limited left-handed hitters to a .135 average (5-for-37), has made 46 appearances in his two seasons at Angelo State after transferring from Blinn College and owns an 11-5 record and a 3.84 career ERA. He has recorded 95 strikeouts through 79 2/3 innings for the Rams and has allowed only 34 earned runs during those innings. A Lone Star Conference second-team and LSC All-Academic selection this season, Becker allowed only 11 runs throughout his junior season and only one run through five postseason appearances. He recorded a career-high seven strikeouts in performances against Tarleton State and Texas A&M-Kingsville during his sophomore season and had four strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings against St. Mary's at the NCAA Division II South Central Championship last month.

"He got more comfortable on the mound every time he took the ball for our team," Brooks said. "He learned how to make adjustments when he's out there and he's learned how to not give up runs. That's ultimately the job of a pitcher and Dillon has done that for us for two years now."

Semler played multiple positions for the Rams in the field and finished his senior season with 37 hits and 34 runs scored. Semler was second in the Lone Star Conference with 12 stolen bases this season and ended the season having reached base in all eight NCAA Division II postseason games. He started 50 games for the Rams with 22 in left field, 15 at second base, nine at third base and one in center field and another in right field. Semler finished the 2015 season with a .362 on-base percentage and had five doubles and two home runs. His second home run was a three-run shot against St. Mary's to lead the Rams to the NCAA Division II South Central Championship after he had scored four runs in an elimination-game win over CSU-Pueblo to help ASU reach the regional final.

"Every team needs a real versatile guy who can go play multiple positions at a high level," Brooks said. "Cody did that for us last season and gave our team everything he had. He's a great competitor who plays really hard on every play and can handle the bat. He can make a lot of things happen with his speed and knowledge of the game."

Semler, who hit .346 against left-handed pitching last season and had three three-hit performances in conference play, transferred to ASU after playing his junior season at West Virginia and his sophomore and freshman seasons at Weatherford College.