Former Cavalier star taken in MLB Draft

Luke Craig will forever be known in local sports history as a central figure in what was probably the biggest “what might have been” that Lee County has ever seen.

But now he will have the opportunity to become famous for something else.

Craig became the second player from Southern Lee’s star-crossed 2020 baseball team to enter pro ball Monday morning, when the 6’2”, 205-pound left-handed pitcher was chosen in the seventh round of the 2024 MLB Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Craig graduated from Southern in the spring of 2020 with the school itself, and the team’s baseball season, cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He had already signed with UNC-Wilmington before the season began, and pitched three seasons for the Seahawks, missing 2022 due to taking a redshirt year. He was only a bit player as a freshman in 2021, but appeared in 25 games, third-most on the team, in 2023. He posted a 7.65 ERA in that season, but this was due to a few poor outings that inflated his runs-allowed numbers. He was 3-1 and worked 37.2 innings that summer.

However, Craig broke out in the 2024 season, raising his strikeout rate and lowering his walk rate dramatically to become one of the top relievers in the Coastal Athletic Association. Working as a long man and occasional closer, he went 4-1 with seven saves, posting a 2.13 ERA over 55.2 innings. He allowed just 33 hits and 21 walks while striking out 76.

Two of Craig’s 2024 wins were over nationally-ranked East Carolina. The team won the CAA title and played in a regional of the NCAA Tournament.

Ian Rebhan, the amateur scouting director for the D-backs, told the SBNation/AzSnakePit fansite that Craig is a potentially fast-moving bullpen arm and that the organization was intrigued by what they saw in his stuff, which includes a low-90s fastball but also a sweeping slider out of a low arm slot that is very difficult for left-handed hitters to pick up.

He was a two-time All-Conference selection at Southern Lee and a senior in 2020, when the Cavaliers entered the season as one of the favorites for the 3A state championship. Southern’s pitching staff was led by Craig; Thomas Harrington, who went on to become an All-American at Campbell and a first-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates; current Appalachian State pitcher Caleb Cross; and two-time Division III All-American Drew Bryan, who now pitches for ECU. The 2020 Cavaliers won their first three games decisively and held Senior Night on the last of those games, having just received word that school was about to shut down. The team hoped to resume the season but never had the chance as the pandemic became worse.

Two Camels taken in Draft Right-handed pitcher Cole Peschl was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 15th round with the 458th overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft.

Peschl joins teammate Grant Knipp as the two members of the 2024 Campbell baseball team to be selected in this year’s draft.

Peschl led the team this year with 13 starts and 69.0 innings pitched. He totaled a 5.48 ERA over a 3-3 record on the year. He also led Campbell’s pitching staff with 83 strikeouts.

Prior to Campbell, Peschl spent two seasons at the University of Charleston (W. Va.), where he was selected as a Division II NCBWA All-America honorable mention.

The selection marks the third consecutive season Campbell has had multiple draft picks. Peschl is the first Camel to be drafted by the Twins since LHP Aaron Miller in 1997.