Watch now: Illinois State’s Ryan Cermak poised for early selection in MLB Draft | Illinois State

NORMAL — Knowing major league scouts had questions, Ryan Cermak provided the answers this past season during a stellar performance with the Illinois State baseball team.

“I had the season many hoped for,” said Cermak, a likely top two round selection in the MLB Draft, which begins Sunday. “That was the most nerve wracking stuff, getting through the season and having a good season.”

A highlight reel defender in center field, Cermak batted .340 with 19 home runs and 43 RBIs this spring.

He also won his second straight Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year Award and was among three Division I outfielders to receive a Gold Glove from Rawlings and the American Baseball Coaches Association.

Cermak established a school record with 10 RBIs during a three-homer, two-grand slam game against Western Illinois in April.

ISU has never had a player drafted in the first round. While not predicting it, Redbirds coach Steve Holm believes Cermak could be the first.

“It’s not going to shock people if late in the first round his name is called,” Holm said. “A lot of people are thinking early in the second round is probably his honey hole. But the Draft is very fickle. You never know what’s going to happen. I would say by the middle of the second round he is probably off the board at that point.”

Counting nine supplemental picks, this year’s first round consists of 39 selections. Baseball America lists Cermak as the No. 40 prospect entering the Draft, while MLB Pipeline lists Cermak at 85.

The first and second rounds will be held Sunday evening and broadcast on MLB Network. Rounds three through 10 follow on Monday with rounds 11 through 20 on Tuesday.

As one scout was overheard saying in the Duffy Bass Field press box this spring, “it’s all about the strikeout rate” with Cermak.

Making more frequent contact a priority, Cermak struck out 44 times in 194 at-bats (22.7 percent) this spring. That represented improvement over a 2021 rate of 28.4 percent (54 whiffs in 190 at-bats).

That success – along with drawing 12 more walks — contributed to Cermak’s on-base percentage rising from .349 to .441.

“The biggest part was getting my strikeout percentage lower,” said the 6-foot-1, 205-pound Cermak. “When I put the ball in play, I usually hit it pretty hard and it finds holes.”

According to Holm, Cermak showed enough in 2021 to attract scouts this spring and excelled when given the chance to impress.

“He left no doubt,” said the ISU coach. “You see the performance of the defensive piece. He obviously has the tools, making those catches and throwing guys out. He’s ready to go right now in that component. The learning curve will be hitting pro ball pitching.”

Cermak was invited to the MLB Combine in June at Petco Park in San Diego, an event similar to the NFL Combine.

“It was a super fun experience, beautiful weather, beautiful stadium,” he said. “When I finally got to go on the field, I hit a few bombs and made a few throws from the outfield. I thought I did pretty good in all aspects.”

Cermak’s blasts of 419 and 415 feet both ranked in the top 10 of all players.

He also went through 30-minute interviews with 18 teams.

“I thought they went really well. Everybody was laughing and having a good time,” said Cermak. “It was pretty relaxing for the most part. But it was a job interview. As the meetings went on, I got better at knowing exactly what I wanted to say.”

The Miami Marlins took an unusual and confrontational approach to interviews, basically challenging players to disprove what they considered negative traits.

“They wanted to see who I really was,” Cermak said. “They were more challenging. They wanted to see how I reacted to it, and I reacted to it pretty well.”

Cermak, who has two years of eligibility remaining as a Redbird but is eligible for the Draft because he has completed his third season at ISU, will discuss financial strategy with his agent this week leading up to the Draft.

Each pick over the first few rounds is assigned a slot value. Teams frequently contact players before the Draft to see how much money they will require to sign and whether they would be willing to take below slot value if drafted at a certain pick.

ISU has had two players drafted in the second round in Neal Cotts (2001 by Oakland) and Dave Bergman (1974 by the New York Yankees) and one third rounder in Owen Miller (2018 by San Diego).

Bergman is the quickest Redbird to be selected as the No. 36 overall pick.

“Back when I was in high school and even middle school, I would have been happy being in the 40th round last pick if it means me playing pro ball and living my dreams,” said Cermak. “Doing a lot better than that really means a lot to me knowing how far I’ve come.”