ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – Junior right-handed pitcher Michael Salina made St. Bonaventure history Monday afternoon by becoming the Bonnies’ highest MLB Draft pick with a fourth round selection by the San Diego Padres.

The Padres called Salina’s name 130th overall as the Webster, N.Y. native is Bona’s first MLB Draft selection since 2017. Aaron Phillips, a ninth round pick by San Francisco eight years ago, was the previous top Bona pick in program history. All-time, Salina is the 17th Bonnies player picked in the MLB Draft.

Salina is also the highest Atlantic 10 player selected in this year’s draft.

“St. Bonaventure baseball is a place you can go and set a path toward professional baseball and Michael getting picked in the fourth round proves that,” Bonnies head coach Jason Rathbun said. “I’m so happy for him and his family. They believed in our program and we believed in him. He has helped set a standard here that will last into the future. We’re so proud of him.”

Named by Perfect Game and D1Baseball as the top MLB Draft prospect in the Atlantic 10 entering this season, Salina led the Bonnies with 64 strikeouts in 58.1 innings of work in his Bonaventure debut in 2024.

Salina, who hit triple digits on the radar gun during fall ball, averaged nearly 10 strikeouts per nine and ranked top-10 in the conference for punchouts during his first season with the program with some of the most electric stuff in the A-10.

Injury cut short his 2025 campaign as he struck out 26 batters in 17.1 innings of work over four starts. He underwent Tommy John surgery this spring and will now continue his rehab process in the Padres organization. San Diego has minor league teams in Lake Elsinore, Ca. (A), Fort Wayne, Ind. (High-A), San Antonio (AA) and El Paso, Texas (AAA) as well as an Arizona Complex rookie league team. Salina is Bona’s first-ever selection by the Padres in the MLB Draft.