SAN FRANCISCO – The USF baseball team had a pair of student-athletes selected on the final day of the 2016 MLB Draft on Saturday in Dominic Miroglio and Ryan Matranga, both catchers.
 
"This moment is surreal," said Matranga, who had his name called by the San Francisco Giants in the 36^th round (1,085 overall). "I've been dreaming of this my whole life and for it to come true is amazing. I can't wait to continue the hard work and the opportunity to keep playing. Thank you to the coaching staff for supporting me and pushing me each day."
 
Miroglio, a junior, and Matranga, a senior, are the 44^th and 45^th USF draft picks during head coach Nino Giarratano's 18-year tenure.
 
Matranga (Mission Viejo, Calif. / Santa Margarita Catholic HS) stepped into the everyday catcher role after Miroglio's injury and went on to establish himself as one of the conference's top catchers, ranking third in the WCC in runners caught stealing (22) while throwing out 49 percent of basestealers.
 
At the plate, Matranga drove in a career-high 20 runs and added six doubles. He was responsible for both of USF's walk-off wins on the year with a single in the bottom of the ninth to defeat Hawai'i (Feb. 27) and a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth vs. BYU (May 12).
 
Miroglio (Oakland, Calif. / UCLA) was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 16^th round (480^th overall). Miroglio missed all but the first eight games of the 2016 season with a hand injury sustained during the second weekend of the season. He came into the 2016 campaign ranked as the No. 225 MLB prospect according to D1Baseball.com and was a preseason addition to the Johnny Bench Award watch list.
 
A 40^th round draft pick of the Oakland Athletics out of high school in 2013, Miroglio became an offensive leader for the Dons by hitting .340 with three home runs and a team-best 38 RBI in 2015, his first season on the Hilltop after transferring from UCLA.
 
Miroglio is just getting his summer started with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the Cape Cod League.