One of the most meteoric rises in modern MLB Draft history came to a head on Sunday night. Thought to be a late-round pick as recently as four or five months ago, Ellington native and UConn commit Frank Mozzicato was selected seventh overall by the Royals. The East Catholic alumnus had a senior season that garnered national attention, most notably with his four consecutive no-hitters as the Eagles eventually went on to win a Class M state title (in the final Mozzicato threw a complete-game shutout, striking out 17).
Now highly unlikely to ever pitch in Storrs, the lefty joins an exclusive list of Connecticut players to be picked in the MLB Draft's first round, and even fewer have been selected as high. Here's the company the newest member of the Kansas City organization joins (NOTE: these are players originally from Connecticut, not necessarily those who played at CT universities):
George Springer (2011): Likely the best MLB player UConn has ever produced (or he certainly will be by the time his career is over), Springer went 11th overall to the Astros a decade ago. The New Britain native and Avon Old Farms alum is a three-time All-Star, was the World Series MVP in the Astros' 2017 championship season, has 19 career postseason home runs and just signed a $150-million deal last offseason with Toronto.
Matt Barnes (2011): The Huskies had two players go in the first round in 2011. Springer went 11th... his teammate Barnes went eight picks later to the Red Sox. The 2018 World Series champion has been a staple in the Boston bullpen since debuting full-time in 2015, and is in midst of a career year in 2021. The reward is his first All-Star Game appearance this week, and a two-year extension (with a team option for a third year) that will keep him in Boston through at least 2023. Not bad for a Danbury kid who grew up a Yankees fan!
Matt Harvey (2010): Considered the best high school pitcher in the country out of Fitch in 2007, Harvey ultimately went in the third round that year to the Angels, and opted to go the college route. After three years at North Carolina his draft stock soared, and he went seventh overall in 2010 to the Mets. He seemed on the trajectory to superstardom when he debuted, making the All-Star team in 2013. Obviously it's been a struggle since, with his ugly exit from New York, a brief absence from baseball and a return that currently has him in Baltimore.
Mike Olt (2010): The Branford native went undrafted out of high school, but mashed in three years at UConn and became the school's first first-round MLB Draft pick in over two decades when he went to the Rangers. In three years he flashed power, hitting 16 homers in 135 career games. However he hit just .168 for his career before officially retiring from baseball in 2019.
AJ Pollock (2009): The RHAM alumnus (he was of the Hebron part of "RHAM") was the 17th overall pick out of Notre Dame, going to the Diamondbacks. A 2015 All-Star, Pollock looked destined for multiple such appearances before injuries derailed his career a bit. Now in his third season with the Dodgers, he's hitting .271 with 12 home runs heading into the All-Star break, and is a solid outfield veteran.
Mo Vaughn (1989): He played high school ball in New York and collegiately at Seton Hall, but Vaughn also grew up in Connecticut and went to New Canaan Country School, so he counts. The 23rd overall pick by the Red Sox in '89, Vaughn was one of the game's elite hitters in the 1990s, highlighted by an MVP season in 1995. His move to Anaheim in 1998 made him the game's highest paid player at the time (six years, $80 million), but was plagued by injuries for much of his later career. Still, he had six straight season of at least 30 homers and goes into the "Hall of Very Good".
Scott Burrell (1989): Burrell ultimately chose basketball over baseball, but his choice became awfully difficult when the Mariners drafted him in the first round (26th overall) in the '89 draft out of high school - no other CT native was a first-round pick out of high school until Mozzicato. Howie Dickenman, however, had other plans, and convinced Burrell to not only eschew Seattle and the University of Miami for baseball, but come to UConn to play basketball.
It worked, as Burrell did it all in Storrs (1,562 points, 750 rebounds, 293 assists and 310 steals, plus a fairly famous inbounds pass to Tate George) and was drafted in the first-round by the Hornets in the 1993 NBA Draft.
His baseball days weren't done, however. In 1990 the Blue Jays picked Burrell in the fifth-round, and he spent two summers playing minor league baseball while a Husky. Until Kyler Murray did it in baseball and football, Burrell was the only player ever to be a first-round pick in two different sports.
Kevin Morton (1989): Three picks after Burrell was nabbed by the Mariners, another Connecticut native was drafted in Morton. Originally from Norwalk, Morton was picked by the Red Sox out of Seton Hall, where he was Big East Pitcher of the Year in 1989. His Major League career was short - he started 15 games in Boston in 1991, went 6-5 and had a 4.59 earned run average - and though the numbers weren't eye-popping, it seems odd he never got another shot in the majors.
Charles Nagy (1988): Before the run in the early 2010s, Charles Nagy was UConn's only first-round draft pick in baseball (not counting Burrell). In a 14-year career spent predominantly in Cleveland, the Bridgeport native was a three-time All-Star who also finished in the top-five of Cy Young voting three times. He won 129 games before retiring in 2003.
Aside from the names mentioned above, Toronto's Anthony Kay (2016) is the only other player with UConn ties to be a first-round draft pick. University of Hartford's Sean Newcomb (2015) and University of New Haven's Cameron Drew (1985) are the other players from Connecticut colleges (but weren't born in CT) to be first-round picks.
Rob Dibble (1983): The Southington native pitched at Florida Southern College before the Reds took him 20th overall in the secondary phase of the '83 draft (the Cardinals originally drafted him out of high school the year prior in the 11th round). A reliever with Cincinnati, Dibble was a two-time All-Star and most notably the MVP of the 1990 NLCS as the Reds went on to win the World Series.
John Caneira (1974): The Waterbury native chose to forgo the professional ranks (briefly) after going in the 11th round in 1970 to the Pirates. It worked, as he went to ECSU and was a three-time NAIA All-American. His reward came four years later, when the Angels took him in the first round of the 1983 secondary draft. He pitched parts of two seasons in California, appearing in eight games in 1977 and '78.
Bobby Valentine (1968): It's been over 50 years and, although Mozzicato came close, no Connecticut native has ever been drafted higher than Bobby V, who went fifth overall to the Dodgers in 1968. Out of Rippowam High School in Stamford (which hasn't existed since the '80s), Valentine spent a decade in the majors with five different teams as a utility player, starting at second, third and in the outfield. Of course he'd later go into managing, most notably with the Mets, before turning to sports administration, as he's the athletic director at Sacred Heart.