PORTLAND, Ore. – University of Portland baseball had its second pitcher taken in the 2022 Major League Baseball Draft in as many days as left-hander Caleb Franzen was picked in the 12th round, No. 356 overall by the Colorado Rockies. Franzen joins fellow Pilot Brett Gillis who went to the Houston Astros in the sixth round on Monday and becomes the seventh player taken in the MLB draft since head coach Geoff Loomis took the reigns in 2015.

Franzen (6-3, 200) finished the year 2-5 with 4.85 ERA. He was vital to the Pilots as both a starter and a relief pitcher, with 18 total appearances and seven starts. He was sixth in the WCC this year in strikeouts per nine innings with 10.47. For his career, Franzen racked up 151 strikeouts in 138.1 innings pitched with a 4.75 ERA.

The Pilots put together one of their best seasons in program history this past year, finishing 32-23 overall with a 17-10 record in WCC play. It was their best overall finish since 2010 and their best WCC record ever. Portland also finished second in the WCC – their highest regular season finish ever – and earned a berth to the WCC Tournament for the first time in program history, taking third.

Franzen and Gillis are the latest Pilots to enter the professional ranks. Chad Stevens was drafted in 2021 by the Houston Astros organization in the 11th round. He is having a solid season for the High-A Asheville Tourists. Other active Pilots playing professionally include Cooper Hummel with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Beau Brundage of the High-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (Tampa Bay Affiliate).