Cavan Biggio Drafted By Toronto Blue Jays In Fifth Round

June 10, 2016

By Russell Dorn

Cavan Biggio – Notre Dame Bio

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – After a stellar junior campaign saw him show remarkable discipline at the plate while leading his squad in a half dozen individual categories, University of Notre Dame second baseman Cavan Biggio was drafted in the fifth round of the 2016 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays Friday afternoon.

Cavan joins his father, Craig (1^st Rd., 1987), a 2015 National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee, and his brother, Conor (34rd Rd., 2015), a 2015 Notre Dame graduate, as MLB draftees. The Houston Astros selected both Craig and Conor. Conor and Cavan are the last two Irish players drafted by MLB.

Friday’s selection marks the second time Biggio has heard his named called in the MLB Draft as he was also picked in the 29^th round of the 2013 draft by the Philadelphia Phillies following his high school graduation from St. Thomas Catholic in Houston.

“I’m absolutely thrilled for Cavan,” said Irish head coach Mik Aoki. “He was a model of how you go about handling what can be a pressure filled process in dealing with scouts and the draft and all the inherit noise that comes along with that. This past year in particular he was a phenomenal teammate, a great leader and a great player and I can’t begin to express how happy I am for him.”

A Houston, Texas native, Biggio is the highest Irish player drafted since Pat Connaughton went in the fourth round of the 2014 MLB Draft to the Baltimore Orioles. He’s also the first Irish second baseman since 2008 (Eric Lilley) to hear his name called and the first Notre Dame player drafted by the Blue Jays since Greg Lopez in 2006.

Biggio is the 14^th Notre Dame player drafted since Aoki stepped foot on campus before the 2011 season.

Congrats to JR @doinitBIGgio23, who was just drafted in the 5th RD (162 overall) by the Toronto @BlueJays!

🍀 âš¾️ pic.twitter.com/vRUzkjFDxL

– Notre Dame Baseball (@NDBaseball) June 10, 2016

A three-year starter at second base, Biggio has played in all 167 games of his career and made 166 starts. He split .272/.406/.425 with 164 hits, 34 doubles, seven triples, 15 homers, 70 RBI, 257 total bases, 125 walks, 18 hit by pitch, nine sac flies, six sac hits, 33 stolen bases and 117 runs scored. The 125 walks rank eighth in school history.

On defense, he claimed a Rawlings Gold Glove as a sophomore and totaled 387 putouts, 503 assists and 138 double plays while posting a .975 fielding percentage during his first three years.

Biggio saved his best offensive season for his junior year, where he batted leadoff in 43 of 54 games. He started all 54 games at second base and posted a .311/.473/.454 split with 61 hits, 12 doubles, two triples, four homers, 28 RBI, 89 total bases, 54 walks, six hit by pitch, 14 stolen bases (in 14 attempts) and 43 runs scored. He led the Irish in hits, total bases, walks, stolen bases and runs scored and tied for the team lead in doubles. Biggio ranks sixth nationally (2^nd ACC) in walks per game (1.00) and is ranked in the top 15 nationally (top 5 ACC) in walks. He’s also ranked in the top 10 in ACC in on-base percentage (.473).

He hit .321 (18-56) against LHP, .307 (43-140) versus RHP, .333 (26-78) with runners on base, .297 (35-118) with bases empty, .667 (2-3) with bases loaded, .313 (15-48) with runners in scoring position and .333 (15-45) with two outs.

Irish Players Drafted Under Head CoachMik Aoki

2011
Brian Dupra, RHP, Sr. (Washington Nationals, 7^th Round)
Cole Johnson, RHP, Sr. (Minnesota Twins, 44^th Round)
Matt Scioscia, C, Sr. (Anaheim Angels, 45^th Round)

2012
Joe Hudson, C, Sr. (Cincinnati Reds, 6^th Round)
Will Hudgins, RHP, Sr. (Washington Nationals, 22^nd Round)
Steve Sabatino, LHP, Sr. (St. Louis Cardinals, 26^th Round)

2013
Eric Jagielo, 3B, Jr. (New York Yankees, 1^st Round)
Dan Slania, RHP, Jr. (San Francisco Giants, 5^th Round)
Trey Mancini, 1B, Jr. (Baltimore Orioles, 8^th Round)
Charlie Markson, OF, Sr. (Milwaukee Brewers, 38^th Round)

2014
Pat Connaughton, RHP, Jr. (Baltimore Orioles, 4^th Round)
Donnie Hissa, RHP, Sr. (Milwaukee Brewers, 21^st Round)

2015
Conor Biggio, OF, Sr. (Houston Astros, 34^th Round)

2016
Cavan Biggio, 2B, Jr. (Toronto Blue Jays, 5^th Round)

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Russell Dorn, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2011 and coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame volleyball, rowing and baseball programs. A native of Greenwood, South Carolina, Dorn graduated from Furman University in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in history before earning his master’s degree in sports communications from Georgia State University in 2011.

–ND–