CdM product Ted Stuka, Laguna Beach’s Cutter Clawson among locals selected in Major League Baseball draft

Ted Stuka, shown fielding a ball for Corona del Mar High on March 20, 2015, was drafted in the 14th round of the Major League Baseball Draft on Wednesday by the Detroit Tigers.

By Matt SzaboStaff Writer

June 5, 2019 9:30 PM PT

Former Corona del Mar High baseball player Ted Stuka was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 14th round of the Major League Baseball draft on Wednesday.

Stuka, the 412th overall pick, had a busy day. After hearing his name called, the junior right-handed pitcher for UC San Diego had to suit up for a game.

Stuka and UC San Diego played Mercyhurst (Pa.) University in the NCAA Division II World Series in Cary, N.C. The Tritons were eliminated in a close one, 6-5.

Stuka highlighted 11 local players drafted during the three-day draft, which concluded Wednesday. Laguna Beach High senior left-handed pitcher Cutter Clawson was drafted in the 33rd round by the Washington Nationals, with the 993rd overall pick.

“It’s just awesome,” said Clawson, who hit .346 his senior year for the Breakers with team-high totals of six home runs and 20 runs batted in, while going 6-4 on the mound with a 2.30 earned-run average. “It’s always been a dream of mine, and it’s just crazy to think it could happen to me. It’s just such an honor to see my name up there. Once I saw my name, I was just filled with joy.”

Laguna Beach High's Cutter Clawson throws in the first inning of the Ryan Lemmon Invitational Tournament championship game against Yorba Linda on April 3 at Irvine's Orange County Great Park.

Clawson said he does plan to honor his commitment to play college baseball at BYU.

“I’m looking forward to the next draft that I’m going to be in, probably in about three years,” he said. “I’m going to go live it up at BYU and hopefully make it to Omaha [for the College World Series].”

UC Irvine had seven players selected in the draft, including two on Tuesday in Round 4. Junior right-handed pitcher Andre Pallante was selected with the 125th overall pick by the St. Louis Cardinals, while junior infielder Brandon Lewis was taken with pick No. 131 by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Pallante and Lewis were the 16th and 17th Anteaters to be selected within the first five rounds.

Two more Anteaters were selected early on day three, with junior right-handed starting pitcher Tanner Brubaker chosen in the 11th round, 329th overall by the Minnesota Twins. Junior shortstop Christian Koss was taken in the 12th round, 369th overall by the Colorado Rockies.

It is just the second time that UCI has had four players selected within the first 13 rounds, joining the 2007 squad which also had four.

UC Irvine senior right-handed pitcher Taylor Rashi went in the 23rd round, 686th overall to the San Francisco Giants. Senior right-handed pitcher Jordan Bocko was selected in the 28th round, 843rd overall, by the Washington Nationals.

Golden West College right-handed starting pitcher Josh Ibarra, who has signed to transfer to UC Irvine, was selected in the 30th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers, 911th overall. UCI junior outfielder Mikey Filia, who played at Irvine High, was drafted in the 31st round with the 919th overall pick by the Kansas City Royals.

Michael Giacone, a 2015 graduate of Ocean View High, was selected by the New York Yankees in the 28th round with the 885th overall pick. Giacone is a left-handed pitcher who has played for North Greenville University (S.C.).