Penn State catcher Matt Wood selected on Day 2 of the 2022 MLB Draft. Here’s where he went
Penn State catcher Matt Wood was in his Gibsonia living room Monday afternoon when he found out he’d become a professional baseball player, and one of his first calls was to his former coach.
Wood was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the fourth round (132nd pick) of the 2022 MLB First-Year Player Draft. After getting off of a video chat with Wood, Penn State head coach Rob Cooper reiterated the importance of keeping the focus on the accomplishment by the player.
“On a day like this, I don’t really get too worked up with how it impacts our program,” Cooper said. “While it’s definitely something that we’re all proud of and it proves that you can come to a place like Penn State and get a world-class education and chase your dreams from a baseball standpoint, that’s there. For me, it’s just more about a guy who came here and worked his tail off and bought into everything and is getting rewarded for it. I’m happy for the recognition that it brings Penn State, but more happy for Matthew.”
Wood slashed .379/.480/.667 with a 1.146 on-base plus slugging percentage with 12 home runs and 53 runs batted in this season. He also drew 36 walks in 249 plate appearances and stole five bases in 54 games. One of the catcher’s best accomplishments was his 26-game hitting streak and a 36-game reached-base streak. He went .469 from the plate during that span.
The junior owned a career batting average of .340 at Penn State, along with an on-base percentage of .437 and a slugging percentage of .552. He totaled 132 hits, 26 doubles, four triples, 16 home runs, 79 RBI with 62 walks over the course of 473 plate appearances.
He racked a number of accolades including being named as a First-Team All-Big Ten selection with a .395 batting average during Big Ten play. Wood becomes the 62nd Penn State baseball draftee in program history. He’s also the team’s highest selection since right-handed pitcher Drew O’Neil was selected with the 120th overal pick in the 2008 draft.
