Round 35 for ex-Warrior

CEDAR RAPIDS – It took a lot longer than expected, but Chad Christensen finally heard his named called Wednesday.

The former Cedar Rapids Washington all-stater and University of Nebraska junior was selected by the Florida Marlins in the 35th round of Major League Baseball's 2012 draft. Christensen was the 1,067th player drafted overall.

You could sense his disappointment in those numbers.

“Not at all what I expected to happen,” Christensen said. “But it is what it is.”

Christensen led Nebraska with 10 home runs and 48 RBIs this season, hitting .311 in 57 games. He has played shortstop almost exclusively as a Cornhusker but was drafted by the Marlins as an outfielder.

“I was expecting to go somewhere between the eighth round to the 11th. That's what I'd been hearing,” he said. “I guess this is kind of what happens sometimes. Everything happens for a reason.”

Christensen said the Marlins have told him they'll watch him play this summer, then decide whether to offer him a contract. He is getting ready to play for the Mankato MoonDogs of the collegiate Northwoods League.

“All in all, it's still an honor to get drafted,” he said.

Others with Iowa ties taken during the three-day draft included Adel-DeSoto-Minburn senior Alec Rash, who went in the second round to the Philadelphia Phillies. Rash is a right-handed pitcher committed to Missouri whose fastball was clocked as high as 95 miles per hour at pre-draft showcases.

Former Cherokee prep Matt Koch was taken by the New York Mets in the third round. He is a junior at the University of Louisville.

Iowa Hawkeyes pitcher Matt Dermody went in the 23rd round to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The junior lefty, drafted out of high school in Norwalk by the Pirates in the 26th round, went 1-7 this past season with a 4.50 earned run average.

Hawkeye second baseman Mike McQuillan went in the 33rd round to the Washington Nationals. A senior, McQuillan led Iowa with a .354 batting average in 50 games.

Morningside pitcher Storm Throne went in the 25th round to the Chicago White Sox. Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs had three players drafted: shortstop Iseha Conklin (Red Sox, 19th round), catcher Damek Tomscha (19th round, Cubs) and pitcher Keaton Steele (29th round, Rays).

The draft was cut from 50 rounds to 40 this year, with signing bonus restraints implemented for each club.