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Aussie duo headed to the pro’s

Baseball Victoria
15 June 2017

Canberra's Cam Warner and Perth's Robbie Glendinning have been stars in their respective college careers, however both of their lives have been changed as they are now 2017 MLB draftees.

Warner, who has made a name for himself as the starting 2B for Texas Christian University (TCU), was picked up in the 28th round of the draft by the Detroit Tigers, while Robbie Glendinning was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 21st round.

Glendinning, a Scarborough native, burst on to the scene at Northern Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) in 2015/16, where he remains NIACC's all-time leader in hits, RBI, doubles, home runs and runs scored.

Following his success at NIACC, Glendinning moved to the University of Missouri, where his 2017 season finished with a batting average of .274, 55 hits, seven home runs and 30 RBI.

For Robbie, he believes going to college enabled him to mature as a ballplayer and a person.

"Going to college helped me grow up," Glendinning said.

"Playing at NIACC was the best thing I've ever done. My coaches made me a competitive ballplayer, and then heading to Missouri gave me an indication of what it's like playing on the big stage."

Cam Warner has been exceptional for the College World Series bound TCU Horned Frogs.

Warner's bat has been on fire for TCU this season, hitting .292 with 73 hits, five home runs and 49 RBI. TCU finished with a 47-16 record, and are heading back to the College World Series, the biggest stage in Division 1 baseball.

Warner's exploits haven't gone unnoticed, as he was recently named in the Big12 All-Conference team for the second consecutive year.

Warner learned of his signing in a slightly unorthodox way.

"I was actually at practice when I heard the news," Warner said.

"One of my teammates came in and told me I had been drafted. It was awesome to share that with my teammates at TCU."

Warner is also an advocate of playing college baseball as he gears up for the College World Series.

"Playing at the college level has helped me continue to grow and develop my skills," Warner said.

"My time at both Hill College and TCU have been some of the best years of my life, and playing at the College World Series is something I never though I would do."

With more and more Australians finding their way to the US playing both professional and college baseball, Baseball Australia's Head of High Performance Glenn Williams is excited to have two of our bright young stars find their way to pro-ball.

"It's a really exciting and encouraging sign for Australian baseball," Williams said.

"It takes a lot of hard work and commitment to leave the country and play baseball regardless of whether it's professional or college. We are excited to see what the next step is for both of these guys. Based on their college careers, I'm confident they will do well and form part of the Team Australia setup in the not too distant future."

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