Valparaiso University outfielder Bo McClendon (Chesterton, Ind./Merrillville H.S.) and pitcher Bryce Shafer (Wabash, Ind./Northfield H.S.) were both selected in the Major League Baseball Draft on Wednesday.

McClendon was selected by Detroit Tigers in the 39th round as the 1,183rd selection overall in the draft while Shafer went to the Chicago Cubs in round 49 as pick number 1,480 overall.

They are the second and third players to have played for head coach Tracy Woodson that have now been drafted since he took over the program in 2007.  They are the 16th and 17th Crusaders ever to be selected in a major league draft.

“It is quite exciting for us to have two players selected this season,” Woodson said.

This is the first time since 1969 when Randy Goede and Ray Coley were both picked that two players from Valparaiso were selected in the same season.

McClendon batted .269 this past season for the Crusaders as a senior, while posting a .424 on base percentage.  Over his final two years with the Brown and Gold, he tallied a .488 on base percentage.

“For four years Bo has been a great player to have on our team” Woodson said of McClendon.  “We are excited for him to have this opportunity to continue playing ball.”

Bo is the son of former major leaguer Lloyd McClendon, who also played at Valparaiso University. 

Shafer, a junior this past season for the Crusaders, posted a 7-4 record with a 4.10 earned run average in 2010.  The six-foot, 170-pound, right-hander fanned 121 hitters in 105.1 innings or work, finishing just six strikeouts shy of the school’s single season record.  He was the Horizon League Pitcher of the Year and a First Team All-Horizon League selection for the Brown and Gold.

In three seasons at Valpo, Shafer has posted an 18-12 record in 48 appearances, including 43 starts, while recording a 4.51 ERA.  His 18 wins are tied for fourth most in school history while his 261.1 career innings pitched are seventh most by anyone in a Crusader uniform.  He has struck out 250 batters, fourth most all-time at Valpo, while opponents hit just .264 against him in three years.

“Bryce had a tremendous year for us this season, being named the league’s Pitcher of the Year,” Woodson said.  “It is an honor for him to be drafted as a junior.”

McClendon and Shafer are the first Crusaders since 2007 to be drafted, when Dallas Cawiezell was selected in the 40th round by the Cleveland Indians.  McClendon is the highest draft selection by a Valpo player since Brian Wolotka was picked in the 24th round by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2001.