June 8, 2007

Washington, D.C. - Georgetown University's Matthew Bouchard (East Greenwich, R.I./Bishop Hendricken) was selected in the 11th round of the MLB Draft by the New York Mets on Friday, June 8. The junior shortstop played every game this season for the Hoyas while leading the team in runs batted in with 41.

"I had been talking to a bunch of teams, primarily the Mets, and while I was watching the draft on my computer, my name popped up," Bouchard said. "As soon as I saw it come up on the screen, I received a phonecall from someone in the Mets organization, so I'm excited."

Bouchard is the eighth baseball player to be drafted in Georgetown history and is the first Hoya selected since Sean Maloney was taken by the Milwaukee Brewers in 1993. He is also the highest drafted Hoya since Steve Iannini was taken in the sixth round of the 1985 draft by the Oakland Athletics.

"I can't really describe how much these last three years at Georgetown have meant to me," said the Rhode Island native. "I'm glad I went there, and in addition to becoming an all-around better player, Georgetown helped me improve in so many other facets of my life, off the diamond."

Bouchard finished second on the team this season in batting average (.329), hits (72), doubles (12), home runs (6) and total bases (104). He also ranked third in runs scored, slugging percentage and stolen bases.

"As long as the Mets are invested in him and do right by Matt, then we wish him the very best," said Georgetown Head Coach Pete Wilk. "We hate to lose him, but if he decides to go pro, then it's a huge loss for us because of the kind of player Matt was."

During three years on the Hilltop, Bouchard has played in 148 games, starting 133 of them. He raised his career batting average 32 points this season to .287. He has also collected 89 runs scored while knocking in 77.

"I'm definitely excited to finally be getting rewarded for all the hard work and dedication," Bouchard said. "I'm glad the Mets took me because I think it's a good pick and I'm ready to prove myself and try my hardest to make the majors."