AU Basketball Player Selected by Pittsburgh Pirates in MLB Draft

AU_Lumpkins
Photo by Rachel Levitin

American University rising junior and basketball player Stephen Lumpkins achieved an athletic feat that no other Division I college basketball player in the city has this year – he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 42^nd round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Wednesday.

Lumpkins, who is known for playing forward with the American Eagles, played baseball throughout high school and is on a collegiate summer league team at the moment.

Although he entered the Eagle lineup his freshman year, Lumpkins’ love for baseball did not falter. The 6’8” California native started recruiting basketball teammates to “play catch” with him last summer while at home.

“I’d like to pursue a career in professional baseball,” he told American’s Kogod News.

Lumpkins has until mid-August to make his final decision about whether or not he will return to AU and continue to play Division I basketball or join the Pirates farm system.