MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Pitcher Austin Schulfer became the 38^th Milwaukee Panther to be selected in the Major League Baseball Draft when the Minnesota Twins chose him Wednesday in the 19^th round with the 574^th overall pick.
 
Schulfer is the seventh MLB draft pick from the program in the last four years and is the first-ever to the Twins.
 
"It is a dream come true to be able to compete with guys who are trying to do the same thing," Schulfer said. "To be able to walk the same lines as some of the greats and the Hall-of-Famers, and to be able to do that for a great organization like the Twins in Minnesota is obviously something I have dreamt about for some time – I could not be happier being a Twin."
 
Schulfer was a fixture in the Panthers starting rotation since going 3-0 as a freshman, earning a spot on the Horizon League All-Freshman Team after posting a 2.25 ERA – the second-lowest by a freshman in program history. He continued to raise the bar, posting career-highs in strikeouts and innings pitched as a junior in 2017, finishing seventh in the Horizon League in wins and K's, eighth in ERA and ninth in innings pitched. 
 
"It's been fun to watch Austin's growth over his time here," said head coach Scott Doffek. "He came in as a real skinny kid with a live arm who just threw the ball. He has worked his tail off to become a pitcher. Coach Bigler deserves a lot of credit in his development as well. I know he will do an outstanding job of representing the Twins organization on and off the field. We could not be happier for him."
 
The Plover (Wis.) native tied the school record with 13 strikeouts against Oakland at Miller Park in April of last season and set the bar at a new level this spring when struck out a school-record 15 batters against Northern Kentucky in early April. This season, he finished fourth in the league in wins, third in innings pitched and third in strikeouts on his way to First-Team All-Horizon League honors. He also set the new MKE career strikeout record at 241 in his final start, breaking the former mark of 239.
 
"A big thank you to my family, Coach Doffek and Coach Bigler, my girlfriend Elizabeth; for all helping me get to where I am today," said Schulfer. "Being at Milwaukee, being a Midwest guy, it's great having the community behind you."
 
Schulfer will join former Panthers Daulton Varsho, Adam Reuss, Brian Keller, Mitch Ghelfi and Josh Uhen who are currently in Minor League Baseball, pursuing their dream of someday playing in the MLB.