Belleville East grad Millas is the newest member of the Oakland Athletics organization

Swansea native and former Belleville East standout Drew Millas took the first step toward the major leagues on Tuesday when he was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the seventh round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

Millas was the 224th player selected and 14th catcher selected in the draft.

Millas, 21, recently completed his junior season at Missouri State University where he was a first team Missouri Valley Conference selection for the second year in a row.

Rated as one of the top defensive catchers available, Millas was the 167th-ranked prospect according to Baseball America, before the draft.

The allocated slot value of the 224th pick is $191,050

A 2016 graduate of Belleville East where he was a three sport standout for the Lancers, Millas hit. .275 with five home runs and 25 RBI for the Bears, who finished a disappointing 20-36 this spring.

One year ago, the switch-hitting Millas batted 321 with seven home runs and a team-leading 61 RBI during the 2018 season when he earned second-team All-America recognition from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

This story was originally published June 4, 2019 at 3:53 PM.