Cougar junior shortstop Andrew Pintar — a former Spanish Fork star — was the first selected as he was taken in the fifth round (138th pick overall) by the Arizona Diamondbacks. According to MLB.com, being drafted at that point merits a potential $422,400 signing bonus (although clubs have not announced or confirmed signing bonuses).

The other three BYU players who were selected were all pitchers, with the first being junior Cy Nielson. He was picked in the eighth round (230th overall) by the Pittsburgh Pirates and has the potential of a $193,000 signing bonus.

Cougar junior Nate Dahle got drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 13th round (404th overall), while junior Cooper McKeehan was chosen by the the Kansas City Royals in the 16th round (475th overall).

“It’s an unreal feeling. I’ve had a lot of people reach out, it doesn’t feel real and won’t until next week,” Dahle told the Ogden Standard-Examiner in a phone interview Tuesday.

The Rays made Dahle what he termed a “fair” signing bonus offer, according to the Standard-Examiner. He declined other offers Monday to be taken earlier in the draft because he felt were too low.

In addition to the draft news, BYU head baseball coach Trent Pratt announced on Monday the hiring Abe Alvarez as the new pitching coach for the Cougars. Alvarez comes to BYU having spent the previous four seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Nevada.

According to the official press release, “Alvarez was an All-American at Long Beach State where he posted a 23-5 record with a 2.56 ERA over three seasons. As a junior in 2003, he helped lead Long Beach to its first-ever NCAA Super Regional appearance. He was selected 2003 Big West Pitcher of the Year and named second-team All-American by Baseball America after going 11-2 with a 2.35 ERA in 18 starts. Alvarez also won a silver medal with Team USA in the 2002 University Games.

“After the 2003 season, Alvarez was drafted in the second round, 49th overall, by the Boston Red Sox. He made the quickest trip from single-A ball to the big leagues in Red Sox history, making his MLB appearance in July of 2004. Alvarez was the youngest member of the Red Sox team to win a World Series ring in 2004. He went on to spend six seasons with the Red Sox organization, including three stints in the majors, before retiring in 2009.

“Following retirement, Alvarez served as an undergraduate assistant coach at Long Beach State until 2011, while earning his bachelor’s degree in history. He later earned a master’s degree in secondary education from Loyola Marymount in 2017.

“After Long Beach State, Alvarez coached at Cerritos High School and then St. Bernard High School, where he was a teacher, dean of students and the head baseball coach. At St. Bernard he led the baseball team to its first league title in 30 years and back-to-back quarterfinals appearances at the California Interscholastic Federation tournament.

“During his four seasons as a coach at Nevada, Alvarez helped the Wolf Pack capture the 2021 Mountain West regular season championship and advance to the NCAA Regionals. He also coached two Wolf Pack pitchers, Grant Ford and Ryan Anderson, who were selected in the 2019 MLB Draft, as well as Owen Sharts, who was drafted in 2021.

“Alvarez and his wife Natalie have two children, Isabella and Benjamin.”

BYU Courtesy Photo