MLB Draft: Jesuit’s and Woodland graduates selected in the first round

Daniel Susac’s draft night started upstairs at the Croatian American Cultural Center with his immediate family.

Downstairs were dozens of family and friends who eagerly awaited the Jesuit High School graduate. After a few hours of waiting, Susac emerged after negotiating contracts with potential MLB teams. Moments later, Susac was selected by the Oakland A’s with the 19th pick in the 2022 MLB Draft. He became the first Sacramento-area first-round draft pick since Elk Grove’s Nick Madrigal was taken fourth overall in the 2018 draft.

“(This is) something I’ve worked for my whole life,” Susac said. “To see it all come out was pretty special.”

Susac became the second member of his family to be a high draft pick. His older brother Andrew was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the second round of the 2011 draft.

A familiar face goes soon after

Moments after Susac was drafted 19th, the St. Louis Cardinals selected Cooper Hjerpe from Woodland High School. Hjerpe had a decorated career at Oregon State.

This past season at Oregon State, he was named the National Pitcher of the Year by ABCA, College Baseball Foundation and Perfect Game. During his senior season at Woodland High School, Hjerpe struck out 105 batters in 44 innings pitched.

“I just wanted to say I’m ecstatic to be a part of an organization like this,” Hjerpe said after the draft on a video call with reporters. “It’s surreal. Words can’t really describe how I’m feeling. It’s something I’ve been dreaming about since I first tried to play the game.”

Both Susac and Hjerpe were Sacramento Bee All-Metro selections in their prep career.

This story was originally published July 18, 2022 at 9:36 AM.