A major college pitcher with Matthew Crownover's resume might feel slighted to last until the end of the sixth round of the Major League Baseball draft.
But not Matthew Crownover.
The Clemson University junior, the Atlantic Coast Conference pitcher of the year after going 10-3 with a 1.82 earned run average, was selected Tuesday by the Washington Nationals with the 194th pick. The Golden Spikes Award semifinalist and three-time All-ACC selection saw several ACC pitchers, including a teammate, get selected before him.
None of it seemed to bother the former Ringgold High School left-hander, who instead sees the day as the beginning of a new chapter in his life and the fulfillment of a dream.
"It feels great," Crownover said by phone Tuesday evening. "It was nerve-racking because we didn't know what was going to happen. We thought it was going to be today, but you never know. We thought anywhere from the fourth round through the eighth, but I didn't want to expect too much.
"It was a good surprise to go to Washington. They're a great organization, one of the best in baseball. It will be a great challenge and I'm looking forward to it."
Major league scouts have used Crownover's lack of size (he's right at 6-foot tall) and non-overpowering "stuff" (his fastball regularly sits in the low 90s) as the reasons he wasn't a top-100 prospect. It's nothing he hasn't heard before, and, as always, it will be motivation moving forward.
"It doesn't bother me," he said. "It's one of those things where everybody has an opinion and they project what they think. I'm not the most projectable pitcher in the world, but I've proved what I can do.
"It's funny that I went in the sixth round. Our weight-training guy at Clemson has been calling me the Tom Brady of the ACC for three years, and every week he gives me a pep talk about Tom Brady going in the sixth round and what he's done in the NFL."
Drafted in the 21st round a year ago by the San Francisco Giants, Crownover never really considered signing. Three years removed from Tommy John surgery on his pitching elbow, he wanted to prove once and for all that he was healthy and that he could handle being Clemson's Friday night starter.
The stellar season, capped by the ACC and national recognition, gave Crownover college totals of 25 wins, a 2.22 ERA and 234 strikeouts to go with 73 walks and 225 hits in 271 innings pitched. Having proved all he could in college, he is ready to make his professional mark.
"Yes, we're working on the details, but this is going to happen," he said of signing with the Nationals. "I'll probably go to extended spring training and then get assigned somewhere.
"I can't wait to get started."
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296.