Monday, June 9, 2008

NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - Former Westminster College baseball player Brandon Drespling (New Castle, Pa./Laurel) signed a contract as a free agent with the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday, becoming the first Titan baseball player since 1972 to sign with a Major League organization.

A 5-foot-10 outfielder, Drespling signed with the Brewers on Sunday and Monday he flew out to their spring training facility in Phoenix, Ariz. Drespling will likely be assigned to the team's Rookie League affiliate in Helena, Mont.

Drespling, who transferred to Westminster from West Virginia and UNC-Asheville, played and started in all 76 games for the Titans the last two seasons while twice earning first team all-Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) honors. Drespling batted .379 (108-285) with seven home runs, 60 RBI and 29 stolen bases, including a team-high .388 average in 2007 and a team-best .372 average in 2008 with 33 RBI.

The last Westminster baseball player to sign with a Major League organization was Darryl Jones who was drafted in the fifth round of the 1972 amateur draft by the New York Yankees. Jones wound up appearing in 18 games with the Yankees in the 1979 season.

About Westminster College...
Founded in 1852 and related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Westminster College is ranked 15^th among liberal arts colleges, according to the Washington Monthly 2007 Annual College Guide. Westminster is a national leader in graduation rate performance, according to U.S. News Guide to America's Best Colleges, and is one of the most affordable national liberal arts colleges in Pennsylvania. Westminster is also honored as one of "The Best 366 Colleges" and "Best in the Northeast" by The Princeton Review, and was recognized by the Templeton Guide as a "Character Building College."

Nearly 1,600 undergraduate and graduate students benefit from individualized attention from dedicated faculty while choosing from 41 majors and nearly 100 organizations on the New Wilmington, Pa., campus.