DRAWING A CROWD

Grand Canyon shortstop Jacob Wilson follows in the footsteps of his big league father 

- BILL MITCHELL

Grand Canyon University is receiving more attention from scouts this year than at any point in the 70-year history of the program. The reason for that is simple. Shortstop Jacob Wilson is projected to be the first-ever first-round pick from the Phoenix-based school.

Tim Salmon, the Angels’ 1989 third-round pick and franchise record-holder for home runs until Mike Trout came along, is Grand Canyon’s most famous alumni. But he is not the program’s highest-drafted player.

The highest draft picks in GCU history were both second-rounders, shortstop LeRoy McDonald in 1969 and lefthander Kevin Wickander in 1986. The latter pitched six seasons in the major leagues.

Wilson is a second-team preseason All-America shortstop, and that extra visibility elevates the profile of a GCU baseball program that returned to Division I in 2014.

“There’s definitely a buzz. There’s a lot of excitement,” first-year head coach Greg Wallis said. “You notice the media attention that he’s getting, that we’re getting, and you see more scouts around that you don’t recognize . . . It’s just built an incredible excitement around the program and the upcoming season.”

That Wilson would return to campus for his third season was not a certainty after longtime head coach Andy Stankiewicz left for the head coaching job at Southern California. Wallis, an assistant coach for nine seasons, had also departed for a job as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Ohio State before being brought back to replace Stankiewicz.