NAMPA, Idaho — Recent Crusader graduate Jake Reppert tried not to think too much about what was taking place this week in New York.

The left-handed pitcher instead got in a few rounds of golf to "keep the nerves down" he said, while player after player heard their named called during the 2015 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

On Wednesday, the Philadelphia Phillies created a whole new set of nerves for Reppert, selecting the Northwest Nazarene pitcher in the 27^th round and 804^th overall in the draft, making him the first Crusader drafted since Zeb Sneed by the Kansas City Royals in 2012.

"It's absolutely a dream come true and a moment I will never forget," said Reppert, who graduated with a degree in Communication: Public Relations last month and helped NNU's baseball team to its first postseason berth since 1992.

Of course, the nerves still got to Reppert just a bit.

"I had a hard time sleeping last night," he said, as the draft began on Monday and concluded Wednesday.

The 6-foot-5 lefty, who earned honorable mention All-GNAC honors and was named to the GNAC All-Academic Team this past season, adds he had been following this week's draft, but not too intently.

Reppert, a native of Monroe, Wash., who transfer to NNU from Bellevue College and played two seasons for the Crusaders, compiled a 5-5 all-time record in 25 games on the hill for NNU.

This spring he set a single-season NNU record for complete-game shutouts, with two, and finished his career pitching 111 innings, striking out 101 batters, compiling a 4.86 ERA and limiting opposing batters to a .288 batting average.

Reppert added of being drafted by the Phillies: "I figured they were among the most likely teams, but I wasn't really expecting it."

Now the next "wait and see" moment for the recent NNU grad is finding out where he'll begin his professional baseball career. The Phillies have a rookie-league team in the Gulf Coast League in Florida — GCL Phillies — along with a short-season Single A team in Williamsport, Pa. — the Williamsport Crosscutters.