SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – University of the Incarnate Word junior Geno Encina (San Antonio/Brandeis HS) was picked in the 18th round of the annual Major League Baseball Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday.

Encina, a tall right-handed pitcher, has been the staff ace of the Cardinals for the past three seasons, but plans to sign with Toronto following the selection.  "I was definitely eager to see my name on the board," said Encina.  "Toronto called around the 15th round and said they were going to draft me soon.  It is a great feeling to get drafted."

Encina is only the eighth player in UIW baseball history to be drafted by a major league club.  The last Cardinal to be picked was Elroy Urbina in the 2011 draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 37th round.  Encina is the third highest draft pick in school history behind Reynol Mendoza (7th round, 1992) and Eric Corbell (16th round, 1990).  He is also the sixth pitcher in program history to be drafted.

During the draft Encina said he had been contacted by a number of teams including the Florida Marlins, Chicago Cubs and Tampa Bay Rays.  He worked out for the Marlins in the weeks leading up to the draft and thought they might be the team to take him, but was happy with the selection by the Blue Jays.

Encina finished his UIW career ranked first in school history in career earned run average (2.70) and walks per 9 innings (1.60).  Over the past two seasons he has posted two of the top 10 ERA's in school history, 2.19 in 2015 and 2.64 in 2014.  He went 17-18 for his career tossing 236.2 innings with 182 strikeouts and only 42 walks.

"It's great for our program and I am happy for Geno," said UIW head coach Dan Heep.  "You hear a lot of different things heading into the draft and we told him to not get too wrapped up in it all.  I told him that if the situation was right and the money was right that he should sign.  I'm encouraging him to still finish up his degree, but this is a great opportunity for him."

Encina will fly out on Saturday to meet with the Blue Jays and from there he will find out where he will start out in the minor leagues.  He also mentioned that part of his contract will include the Blue Jays paying for him to complete his education at UIW where he is two full-time semesters away from graduating with a degree in communication arts.
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