D-Backs Draft Tufts Grad

Following a record-setting season with Tufts, Dan Callahan was drafted by the World-Champion Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday.

Pheonix [06.05.02] -- With a .404 batting average and a 3.5 GPA, Dan Callahan's career at Tufts -- both on the baseball field and in the classroom -- was very impressive. On Tuesday, the international relations major and record-setting right fielder was rewarded for his hard work, when the World Champion Arizona Diamondbacks selected the Tufts graduate in the 21st round of Tuesday's draft.

   "Dan's a complete player," Tufts head coach John Casey told The Boston Globe. "He runs well, hits for average and power, and he's a good outfielder with a good arm."

   Casey, who recorded his 300th victory at Tufts this year, told the newspaper that Callahan's performance should attract some attention from major league ball clubs.

   His career statistics at Tufts are impressive.

   During his four seasons, Callahan set the team's career records for hits (219), runs (153), runs batted in (130), doubles (45), and triples (14). And his seven triples this spring set a new single-season mark.

   Following his junior-year season, he was named Player of the Year by the New England Small Colleges Athletic Conference and was a regular recipient of NESCAC Player of the Week honors.

   But the Globe reported that the Tufts senior didn't limit his accomplishments to the field.

   Before graduating with honors last month, Callahan's academic performance earned him Tufts' Senior Award for academic excellence, as well as two straight spots on Verizon's Academic Northeast Region Team.

   Callahan's selection in the draft marks the second time since 1997 that a Tufts player earned a spot in a Major League team's system.

   Jeff Tagliente -- a star pitcher for the University between 1993 and 1997 -- was drafted by the Boston Red Sox following his record-setting career at Tufts.

   Traded twice since then, Tagliente plays minor league baseball for the Cincinnati Reds, compiling a 2-0 record in Chattagnooga.

   USA Today described the Tufts graduate as an impressive reliever and predicted that the 26-year-old has a good shot at a career in the majors.