ORONO -
Nicholas Sinacola became the 61st Black Bear in Maine Baseball history to be selected in the first ten rounds of the MLB Draft on Monday afternoon, as the San Francisco Giants claimed Sinacola in the seventh round with the 206th pick of the 2021 MLB Draft.
A storybook season that saw Sinacola rewrite the Maine record book and earn national attention the likes of which haven't been seen in Orono in a long time concludes with the selection. The America East Pitcher of the Year and multiple All-American selectee becomes the highest draft pick from the conference since 2018 and the fourth highest Maine selection in the last three decades. Only Larry Thomas in 1991 (second round, 68 overall) and the duo off Jeremy Pena (third round, 102 overall) and Chris Bec (fifth round, 146 overall) in 2018 have been drafted higher since 1991.
Nick Sinacola is the 61st player selected out of Orono all-time and the fifth of Head Coach
Nick Derba's tenure. Maine's first professional player was Irv Ray in 1887, and their first draft selection was Carl 'Stump' Merrill in 1966. Bill Swift is the highest selection in program history, going second overall in the 1984 draft.
