For 20-year-old University of Cincinnati pitcher Christian McElroy, being drafted by the Cincinnati Reds was a dream come true.
“I grew up watching the Reds,” McElroy said. “[When] you’re in the draft, you’re just hoping to be drafted by any team. And when your name has been taken by the Cincinnati Reds—it’s kind of mind-blowing.”
McElroy was drafted with the 982nd overall pick in the 32nd round of the first-year MLB player draft and actually spent one season as a starting pitcher for Sinclair in 2011.
“I loved Sinclair,” McElroy said. “The facilities are great and for a junior college, the coaches were great. You couldn’t ask for a better coaching staff. It was a professional system. Everyone was on the same track and everyone wanted to win.”
He said his collegiate career has been an emotional roller coaster. After initially being recruited to the University of Cincinnati, he tore his ulnar collateral ligament in his right throwing elbow, causing him to miss the entire year. He received a medical red shirt for his freshman year, as he had to have Tommy John surgery to repair the tendon.
“When it first happened, you don’t know if you’re going to come back as strong,” McElroy said. “You really don’t know if you’re going to succeed at one of your goals you’ve been working toward your whole life. You don’t even know if you’re going to play in college again. Going through the rehab, I couldn’t even throw. Just being able to throw was something to look forward to.”
McElroy was sent to Sinclair to rehab the injury during his red-shirt freshman season.
“The injury really toughened me up,” he said. “It gives you a harder work ethic, and teaches you not to give up. Going to Sinclair is what really got me back on track.”
In his one year at Sinclair, McElroy played in 13 games, lifting the Tartan Pride to victory in four of those games. He finished his only season at Sinclair with a 5.037 ERA with 55 strikeouts.
He then received an offer to return to the University of Cincinnati for his sophomore season.
During that season for the Bearcats, he pitched a total of 63.1 innings, with nine starts. He finished last season with four wins.
McElroy said that although the Bearcats had a disappointing season, posting a record of 18-38 overall, he feels his team is progressing and hinted that the best is yet to come.
“I’m still not satisfied,” McElroy said. “I’m always trying to be better than I am. It wasn’t a bad season. Our season as a whole didn’t go as well, but then again it [makes our team] strive to be better for next year.”
Sinclair head coach Steve Dintaman said that he was very proud of McElroy and said that he hopes to see him continue to succeed.
“It was pretty cool to have back-to-back years to have a guy drafted,” Dintaman said. “I’m very happy for Christian to have that opportunity. He was a great teammate while he was here and all the guys liked him. He worked very hard for us. I’m glad that he’s done a good job at UC academically as well.”
McElroy hasn’t made a decision on whether he wants to sign with the Reds or return to college. He still has two years of athletic eligibility remaining.
“Time is on my side I guess,” McElroy said.
McElroy is the fourth former Sinclair baseball player who has been drafted in the last 10 years and Dintaman hopes to see that trend continue.