Hamilton and Cougar signee taken in 11th round of MLB Draft

Washington State pitcher Ian Hamilton was selected in the 11th round by the Chicago White Sox in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft Saturday.

Hamilton, a junior from Vancouver, Wash. was the No. 326 overall pick and 10th player taken the round. The right-hander is just the second Cougar to be drafted by the White Sox after pitcher Wayne Lindermann was taken in the 20th round in 1992.

Hamilton is a three-time All-Pac-12 Conference selection, owns the school record with 28 career saves and is tied for ninth in WSU history with 70 career appearances, matching current Miami Marlin Adam Conley.

Hamilton earned All-Pac-12 honors as a closer during his freshman and sophomore seasons and picked up All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention accolades after serving as the Cougars ace this past season. In three seasons at WSU, Hamilton owns 28 saves, five wins, 123 strikeouts in 160 innings and a 3.60 ERA.

Hamilton moved from the bullpen to the starting rotation this season and led the Cougars with 62 strikeouts and 87 innings in 15 starts. He excelled in Pac-12 play, notching wins over Arizona State and at No. 14 Washington.

Hamilton fired six strong innings against No. 10 Oregon State and later earned Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week after beating UW in Seattle, helping WSU to series wins over both teams. He went six-plus innings in six of his 10 conference starts including a season-best 7.1 innings at Stanford where he struck out a season-high nine.

In addition to Hamilton, Cougar signee Jake Polanci, a native of British Columbia and the first Canadian taken on Day 3 of the MLB Draft, was taken in the 11th round by the Diamondbacks.

(WazzuWatch Publisher Scott Hood contributed to this report)