INDIANAPOLIS - Northern Kentucky University senior pitcher Dave Middendorf (Cincinnati, Ohio), University of Southern Indiana senior pitcher Taylor Dennis (Covington, Ind.) and Quincy senior pitcher Rich Ruff (Chicago, Ill.) were each selected in the Major League Baseball June Amateur Draft.
Middendorf, the GLVC Pitcher of the Year, was selected by the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday in the 22nd round, while Dennis was tabbed by the Texas Rangers in the 34th round and Ruff was picked in the 46th round by the New York Mets on Wednesday.
Middendorf, a 44th round by the New York Yankees in 2010, returned for his senior year with the Norse to post a 9-3 record with a 1.73 earned run average. He struck out 127 batters during the 2011 campaign to set a new single-season mark at NKU and finished his career with a school-best 349 strikeouts.
In addition to being named the top pitcher in the GLVC, Middendorf was named to the All-American First Team by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and the Midwest Region pitcher of the year.
Middendorf is the ninth player for Norse head coach Todd Asalon to be selected in the MLB Amateur Draft. NKU has had at least one player selected in the draft in six of the past seven years.
Dennis, the Most Outstanding Player of the 2010 NCAA Division II Championship Series, was a second-team All-GLVC selection for the Eagles in 2011 and is the eighth USI player to be drafted in the MLB Amateur Draft. He posted a 6-4 overall record in 2011 with a 3.62 ERA in 16 appearances. He notched 61 strikeouts and tied a single-game USI record with 14 strikeouts in the second round of the GLVC Tournament.
In two seasons with the Eagles, Dennis was 18-5 with a 4.71 ERA. He tied the school record for wins by posting a 12-1 mark as a junior.
Dennis is the first Eagle to be selected in the MLB June Amateur Draft since Jeremy Kehrt was selected in the 47th round by the Boston Red Sox in 2008.
Ruff, who helped guide the Hawks to their first GLVC championship since 2000, was 7-3 on the mound with a 3.86 ERA. He posted 49 strikeouts and two shutouts in 12 starts in his only year on the Hawks' staff.
Ruff is the first Quincy player to be selected in the amateur draft since Bradley Stone was picked in the 12th round in 2006.
With the three selections in the 2011 MLB June Amateur Draft, the GLVC has had 79 players selected from member institutions.