June 7, 2004

Memphis, Tenn. - A trio of University of Memphis baseball players were selected Monday on the first day of the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. Shortstop Brent Dlugach, a junior out of Germantown, Tenn., was the first Tiger off the board taken by the Detroit Tigers in the sixth round (163 overall).

Right-handed pitchers Jarrett Grube (Corunna, Ind.) and Derek Hankins (Altamont, Ill.) were selected within two picks of each other in the 10th round. The Colorado Rockies took Grube with the 290th pick of the draft while the Pittsburgh Pirates grabbed Hankins with the 292nd pick.

All three Tigers were selected to All-Conference USA teams following the team's 29-28 season in 2004. Grube was a first-team selection after leading the league with a 2.73 ERA and placing second just behind Hankins in strikeouts with 110. Hankins, a second-team member along with Dlugach, led the league with 114 punchouts and tied for the league-lead with six wins in C-USA play.

Dlugach belted a team-high nine home runs and led the Tigers' offense in home runs, RBIs, doubles and slugging percentage in C-USA contests. Hankins and Dlugach each have a year of eligibility left with the Tigers, but can opt to sign professional contracts with the Tigers and Pirates, respectively.