Padres Sign Undrafted College Senior With Strong Academic Background
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On Wednesday, the San Diego Padres signed Alex McCoy, an outfielder from Hofstra, to a free-agent contract. The deal is official pending a physical.
McCoy became the 12th player in program history to sign a free agent contract with a Major League Baseball team and the third in the last four years.
The 22-year-old from Baltimore joins Don Taussig (New York Yankees, 1950), Irving Burton (New York Giants, 1951), Brant Alyea (Cincinnati Reds, 1962), Paul Ciofrone (Philadelphia Phillies, 2001), Kevin Reinking (San Diego Padres, 2002), Kevin Flynn (Washington Nationals, 2013), Matt Reistetter (Washington Nationals, 2013), Matt Ford (Tampa Bay Rays, 2014), David Leiderman (Miami Marlins, 2018), Austin Gauthier (Los Angeles Dodgers, 2021), and Kevin Bruggeman (Los Angeles Angels, 2023) as MLB free agent signees.
#Hofstra ➡ San Diego
— Hofstra Baseball (@HofstraBaseball) July 17, 2024
Congratulations to Alex McCoy (@amccoy401) on signing a free agent contract with the @Padres❗ Excited to follow you on your ⚾ journey.#PrideOfLIhttps://t.co/s1qR0PmmHa pic.twitter.com/fhYOl6Hp3C
"I am so happy for Alex and his family," said Hofstra head coach Frank Catalanotto. "He put in a lot of hard work to prepare for this moment and we wish him all the best in his professional career. The Padres are getting a special player."
McCoy brings a combination of baseball and classroom skills to the Padres. During his lone season with Hofstra, he earned College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Honors and was a member of the Hofstra Dean's List each semester.
McCoy began his collegiate career at the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore before transferring ahead of the 2024 school year.
On the field, McCoy batted .306 with 12 doubles, a team-high 11 home runs, 40 runs scored, and 44 RBIs. His 44 RBIs were good for second on the team, the 40 runs ranked third, while the 12 doubles were fourth.