Former Warriors Backstop Casanova Selected in MLB Draft

For the second straight year, Trevor Casanova was selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Wednesday afternoon.

Casanova was selected in the 13th round with the 394th overall selection by the Minnesota Twins. The catcher played his junior season at CSUN after transferring there from El Camino College in 2018.

Casanova was selected in the 14th round with the 423rd overall pick following his sophomore season at ECC in 2017.

A native of Redondo Beach, Casanova enjoyed a stellar first season with the Matadors. He earned All-Big West Second Team honors as he led the conference in doubles (18), ranked second in hits (77) and batting average (.345) and finished seventh in on-base percentage (.405). He registered 22 multiple-hit games and hit safely in 47 contests during the year. In May, Casanova was named one of 14 semifinalists for the Johnny Bench Award, which is given to the nation's top collegiate catcher.

Casanova played 57 games for the Matadors and made 56 starts including 50 at catcher. Behind the plate, Casanova had just two passed balls and three errors but none in Big West action. He threw out a Big West-leading 23 base runners as he registered a 46.9 caught stealing percentage (23-of-49).

As a sophomore at ECC, Casanova had a banner season for the Warriors as he earned a number of accolades. He led the Warriors with a .390 batting average, 82 hits, eight home runs, seven triples and 66 runs scored while playing all 51 games. He excelled in the postseason, helping lead ECC to the California Community College State Championship Final Four as he batted .455 in 11 games, going 20-for-44 with four doubles, one triple, one homer and 15 runs scored.

He controlled both a stellar pitching staff and policed the base paths as he threw out 44.2 percent of would-be base stealers, gunning down 19 of 43.

Casanova earned American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings All-American honors as well as All-Region selection and was named the ABCA Southern California Position Player of the Year.

Casanova was the first ECC player taken in directly after his last season with the Warriors since former pitcher Kyle Petter was taken in the 34th round of the 2010 MLB Draft by the Cleveland Indians.