By Harry Minium
If Old Dominion University’s baseball roster remains unchanged over the next few weeks, the Monarchs would be overwhelming favorites to successfully defend their Conference USA title.
In fact, they would also have a good shot at making their first trip to the College Baseball World Series in Omaha.
All but three players are eligible to return and outfielder Kyle Battle is the only starter among those who are definitely leaving. Everyone else technically could return from the team that won 44 games and advanced to the championship game of the Columbia Regional in South Carolina.
But if you’re a baseball fan you know the roster will change, and perhaps drastically, over the next week or two. The Major League Baseball draft begins Sunday, and goes 20 rounds over three days.
It’s likely that three or four Monarchs will get drafted and perhaps has many as half a dozen.
Here’s the good news: regardless of how many players ODU loses to the draft, the Monarchs will be good next season. A lot of talent returns. Potentially, this could be a championship team.
ODU was one of the nation’s top offensive teams and that should not change. Pitching is a question mark but ODU has a ton of good prospects.
More on that later.
Two players will certainly go in the early rounds. Pitcher Hunter Gregory, a…
