North Carolina A&T senior outfielder Charlie Gamble and Bethune-Cookman senior outfielder Angel Mercado were both drafted in the 23rd round of the Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft on Friday.

Gamble, the 2007 MEAC Player of the Year, was selected as the # 711 pick by the Houston Astros. He led the MEAC in batting (.409), home runs (10), hits (92), slugging percentage (.653) and total bases (147). He was second in the league in doubles (19) and RBI (57). Gamble also broke the school’s single-season hits record for the second time in his career. He owns a total of nine school records.

It was the second straight year that an Aggie was selected in the MLB Draft. The Colorado Rockies picked Jeremy Jones last year in the 25th round. In 2004 Duron LaGrande was selected in the 10th round by Montreal.

The San Diego Padres selected Mercado with the #717 overall. He is the first player drafted from Bethune-Cookman since 2004 with Sebastien Boucher (Seattle Mariners), Juan Figueroa (Florida Marlins) and Mumba Rivera (Seattle Mariners).

Mercado led Bethune-Cookman and was second in the MEAC with a .404 batting average. He was also in the top five in the league in several other categories including On Base Percentage (4th), Slugging Percentage (2nd), Runs Scored (t-5th), Hits (2nd) and Homeruns (t-3rd).

Mercado becomes the second player from Bethune-Cookman to become a member of the San Diego Padres organization in as many years. Last year, Richard Rodriguez signed a free agency contract with the Padres, and is currently a member of their AA team (Eugene Emeralds).