UHV pitcher Andre Del Bosque was selected in the 38th round of the MLB Draft on Saturday by the New York Yankees.

All of the anxiety of the past three days has paid dividends for University of Houston-Victoria pitcher Andre Del Bosque.

The junior closer became the first-ever player for the Jaguars to be drafted in the Major League Baseball Draft when he was selected in the 38th round by the New York Yankees, the 1,142nd pick overall.

The St. Joseph-Victoria graduate proved his worth to not only the Jaguars this season, but the Yankees as well, with a UHV record 13 saves.

While heavily pursued by the Houston Astros and Cincinnati Reds, the selection by the Yankees came as no surprise to Del Bosque.

“This is pretty exciting right now,” said a relieved Del Bosque. “They called me last week and talked with me and told me they were interested and would take me.”

The hard-throwing right hander will now sit down with the Yankees and talk about the directions they want Del Bosque to go.

“They said they would call me and we’ll sit down and discuss all the details this week,” Del Bosque said. “It’s just so cool to be able to go to a quality team like the Yankees.”

His coach, Terry Puhl, was just as excited in hearing the news.

“I am so elated for him,” Puhl said. “He has put in all the hard work and his dedication to making it happen has gotten him to this point. He works so hard and he did everything you could ask of him as a closer.”

Del Bosque was named the Association of Independent Institutions Conference Pitcher of the Year as well as a all-conference first-team reliever for his hard work this season. He set UHV single-season records for innings pitched (95), saves (13) and appearances (34), as well as becoming the all-time saves leader with 15.

This past season he finished with a 3-6 record and a 1.64 ERA while allowing 18 runs on 45 hits and 21 walks, while striking out 86. Opponents compiled just a 0.178 batting average against him. He also finished in the top 10 in the NAIA in saves (4th), opponent batting average (9th), hits allowed per 9 innings (9th) and total runs allowed (9th).

“Of all the players that we have had come through the program, Andre is definitely one that I feel is ready to play at the next level,” Puhl said. “We have played one of the most difficult schedules and I think it has benefited guys like Andre. I think that is what will catapult him to the next level.”