Regis Jesuit alum David Peterson selected in first round of the MLB Draft

Courtesy GoDucks.com/Eric Evans

David Peterson, a 2014 graduate of Regis Jesuit, was selected in the first round of the 2017 MLB Draft on Monday night.

Now the ace at Oregon, Peterson went with the No. 20 overall pick to the New York Mets.

“It’s been a dream of mine since I was 3 years old,” Peterson told GoDucks.com. “To have this come true, it’s an honor and a pleasure, and I’m very excited.”

Peterson recently finished his junior season at Oregon, where he went 11-4 with a 2.51 ERA and 140 strikeouts against just 15 walks. On May 1, he tied the school record with 20 strikeouts in a game against Arizona State.

Last week, he was named a third-team All-American by Baseball America, becoming the first Oregon Duck to do so since the school restarted its baseball program nine years ago. He was also named a first-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball, is a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award, and was first-team All-Pac-12.

Peterson becomes the 24th first-round pick in Colorado history, and the first since Thomas Jefferson alum Kyle Freeland went No. 8 overall in 2014.

This is the highest a Regis Jesuit alum has ever been drafted, topping the selection by Peterson’s former classmate Max George, who went No. 173 overall in 2014.

The Raiders have a long draft history, and now have had 26 former players drafted — second only to Cherry Creek in state history. In fact, they’ve had multiple alums selected every year since 2012, and have had at least one player drafted every year since 2009.

David Peterson at Regis Jesuit. (Dennis Pleuss

At Regis Jesuit, Peterson finished his career 13-5 with a 2.23 ERA as a three-year varsity player.

He fractured his fibula just before his senior season, but returned a month-and-a-half later to help his team reach the Final 8. Peterson was a second-team all-state selection that season even though he appeared in just seven games.

Coming out of high school, Peterson was drafted in the 28th round by the Boston Red Sox. He opted not to sign, and instead enrolled at Oregon.

That decision has paid off with a first-round selection.