Dream jobs are hard to come by, but one WVU baseball player has his and the opportunity of a lifetime. Grant Buckner was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the 26th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft.
“I always said it’s what I wanted to do, it’s my biggest dream ever. I’ve always said I wanted my first real job to be a professional baseball player,” said Buckner. “That’s my job now so, no more school, just work on baseball all the time. That’s a pretty cool feeling.”
Buckner was the 801stpick in this year’s draft and the second Mountaineer shortstop in as many years to be drafted by a major league team.
“I’ll be heading to the Appalachian League in Bristol, Virginia,” Buckner said. “That is the next step.” …
Here’s his scouting report from perfectgame.org via mack’s mets:
5-11 from: – link – RF, Grant Buckner, W Virginia, 6’1 1/2 210, R/R, powerful built, solid RF arm, 40 plus runner and field, 60 power, could perhaps play 1b in pro ball, has good hands and moves well for a big man, swing a tad long with power to all fields. Someone will give him a 4-8 round look for sure and don’t be surprised if this kid gets to the show in 2-3 years with his makeup.
Here are his College Stats:
| Year | AVG | GP-GS | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | TB | SLG% | BB | HBP | SO | GDP | OB% | SF | SH | SB-ATT | PO | A | E | FLD% |
| 2011 | .364 | 55-55 | 209 | 48 | 76 | 14 | 1 | 8 | 46 | 116 | .555 | 20 | 10 | 25 | 2 | .440 | 2 | 7 | 3-6 | 90 | 144 | 13 | .947 |
| 2010 | .363 | 53-53 | 201 | 37 | 73 | 17 | 0 | 8 | 50 | 114 | .567 | 21 | 15 | 27 | 7 | .452 | 4 | 5 | 5-6 | 53 | 75 | 10 | .928 |
| 2009 | .325 | 55-55 | 200 | 42 | 65 | 21 | 1 | 5 | 45 | 103 | .515 | 23 | 11 | 19 | 0 | .418 | 3 | 10 | 0-2 | 116 | 2 | 2 | .983 |
| 2008 | .290 | 24-15 | 62 | 12 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 24 | .387 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 0 | .328 | 1 | 3 | 0-0 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
And here’s a small video of Buckner:
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