Aaron Schunk is no different than thousands of other little boys who pick up a baseball for the first time, dreaming of one day getting a chance to play in the Major Leagues.
For Schunk and three of his Georgia teammates, that time is now.
"It was an unreal moment, kind of a culmination of all the hard work, long days on the field—all the hard work paying off," said Schunk, who was taken in the second round by the Colorado Rockies with the 62nd overall pick. "It's an unreal feeling."
Schunk wasn't the only Bulldog to receive the phone call of a lifetime.
In the third round, the St. Louis Cardinals chose pitcher Tony Locey with the 96th overall pick, followed by Tim Elliott in the fourth round by Seattle with the 126th overall selection.
The seventh round saw senior LJ Talley taken by the Toronto Blue Jays with the 207th overall pick.
"Eleven World Series rings. I'm just blessed to be a part of their organization," said Locey, who led the Bulldogs with an 11-2 record and a 2.53 ERA.
He became the first Bulldog to win 11 games in a season since 1990, when Mike Rehban (13-5) and Dave Fleming (12-3) headlined the national championship staff.
"I was very interested in the Cardinals. early the first day, but it didn't work out," Locey said. "I had no idea they would take me; I was kind of looking at three picks after that, but then I got the phone call saying 'Congratulations, you're a Cardinal.'"
Elliott went 7-3 with a 2.38 ERA for the Bulldogs, including a complete-game two-hit shutout to beat Florida Atlantic in an elimination game during the Athens Regional. It was just the third NCAA postseason shutout in school history.
The former Loganville standout acknowledged his showing against the Owls certainly didn't hurt his standings.
"I definitely think it took any hesitation away from the teams that wanted me," Elliott said. "If they were on the fence about it, I think it definitely helped them through their hesitations a little bit."
Talley, meanwhile, started 199 of the 221 games he played for Georgia, posting a career .280 average with 17 home runs and 108 RBI. He becomes the first Bulldog drafted by the Blue Jays since 1985 (Kerry St. Clair in the 24th round).
Schunk did it all for the Bulldogs, earning the team “Triple Crown”—leading the team with a .339 average, 15 home runs, and 58 RBI. He became the first Georgia player to do that since 2010 (Zach Cone). Also, Schunk served as the closer, tallying 12 saves to go with a 1-2 mark and 2.49 ERA in 17 appearances.
The Rockies chose Schunk as a third baseman.
"I'm looking forward to having the opportunity to make it to the big leagues," said Schunk, who has other reasons for being happy that the Rockies gave him a call. "I've got family out in Colorado so that makes it pretty good, it's a great hitter's park, so hopefully I can take advantage of that."
Schunk started 56 games at third base as Georgia finished 46-17 this past season. The team earned a National No. 4 seed for the NCAA Championships and advanced to the NCAA Athens Regional Final this past Sunday. Schunk made the regional All-Tournament team after batting .375 with four home runs and 13 RBI in four games. An All-Southeastern Conference pick by the league coaches this year, Schunk has played in 154 games with 153 starts in his Bulldog career.
Schunk becomes the highest drafted Bulldog since 2016 when pitcher Robert Tyler went in the first round (38th overall) to the Rockies.
With the exception of the senior Talley, Schunk, Elliott and Locey could still technically return to school, but it does not appear that will be the case.
All three underclassmen told UGASports their intention is to begin their respective professional careers as soon as their contracts are signed. Elliott said he expects to head to Arizona in the coming days.
"It's surreal at the moment when it's happening," said Elliott. "But the aftermath is when it really hits you—it's like 'Wow, I just did it.' All the time, effort and work, the blood, sweat and tears that went into this moment. Everything I did was an investment; I wasn't going to not let it pay off. So, here I am and I'm very excited."
The Rockies have $1,102,700 slotted for Schunk's spot in the draft according to Baseball America, with the Cardinals sitting at $640,000 for Locey's spot and the Mariners at $451,800 for Elliott's position.
The MLB Draft runs through Wednesday. The first two rounds were conducted Monday with rounds three through 11 on Tuesday and rounds 12-40 on Wednesday. The Bulldogs have a string of 46 straight seasons with at least one player signing a professional contract. In 2018, three Bulldogs were drafted and a total of four began a professional career.
