Paul Cusick -- Penn Product, Wilmington Native -- Drafted by Phillies
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - There is a good chance that Penn righthander Paul Cusick will always remember last night's Phillies 6-2 loss to the Dodgers. That's because the Wilmington, Del. native was watching his favorite team with his family when a childhood dream came true.
"My dad was sitting next to me -- he was following the draft on the computer the whole day -- and my name just popped up on the computer screen," Cusick tells KYW Newsradio. "Just as he said something, my phone rang and it was the Phillies calling me and letting me know that I had just been taken. It was a pretty awesome feeling to be there with my family," he adds.
Cusick was selected by the Phillies in the 29th round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft.
The 2011 Ivy League Pitcher of the Year went 5-3 for the Quakers this season, with a 2.70 ERA. In 66⅔ innings he struck out 80 while allowing just 56 hits.
And Cusick says the last year really put him in position to move on to the pros.
"This past summer I played out in California and had a pretty good summer, and then came back here in the fall and we have a smaller scout day at the University of Pennsylvania and I had a pretty good showing and I put together a pretty good season. It all started coming together as the season went along," he says.
Listen to Matt Leon's full interview with Paul Cusick in this CBS Philly SportsPod…
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Cusick finished his career with 200 strikeouts at Penn. That's the fourth highest total in school history. He is the first Penn Quaker to be drafted since the Cleveland Indians took Brian Winnings in the 48th round back in 2004.
Reported by Matt Leon, KYW Newsradio 1060
