KEENE, N.H. 6/8/11 – Before working out for the Red Sox at Fenway Park last week, Keene State College's Corey Vogt jokingly told the teams' general manager, Theo Epstein, that "you better draft me if I'm doing this for you."

            Epstein and the Red Sox reciprocated on Wednesday, picking Vogt in the 39th round of the Major League Baseball first-year player draft. The right-handed pitcher from Suffield, Conn., becomes the first Keene State player to be selected in the draft. "I'm at a loss for words," said Vogt, who was the 1,192 overall player picked in the draft. "This is something I've been working toward my entire career."

            A die-heart Yankee fan, Vogt will now have to change his allegiance. "They're paying my salary now, so I won't have a hard time with it," he said. "It's going to be cool playing baseball and earning a paycheck doing it."

            Arriving at Keene State as a shortstop and part-time pitcher, Vogt flourished after moving to the Owls' bullpen as a sophomore. "Corey came in as a raw freshman and worked extremely hard," said KSC baseball coach Ken Howe. "He has the God-given gift to throw a baseball fast. Over the years, Corey has been able to increase his velocity and harness his pitches."

            "Corey matured as a player and realized the importance of pitching and not just throwing," said Marty Testo, Keene State's associate head coach and pitching guru. "When Corey throws good, low, strikes, he has a chance to get a lot of people out."

            Vogt had a breakout junior season at Keene State, posting a 1.05 ERA with five saves while fanning 32 batters in 25.2 innings. Named to the Little East first team, Vogt caught the eye of area scouts last summer, hurling for the North Adams SteepleCats of the New England Collegiate Baseball League. Appearing in 18 games for the SteepleCats, Vogt, who was selected to play in the NECBL All-Star game, put up impressive numbers, allowing just one earned run and striking out 31 batters in his 19 innings on the mound. "There's no question that his experience in the NECBL and pitching against that caliber of hitter really helped him," said Testo, who also coaches the NECBL's Keene Swamp Bats. "He was routinely pitching in front of scouts."

            "When I started to hit low 90s with my fast ball, people started paying attention," said Vogt. "I came away with the mindset of what you need to do to play professional baseball."

            Working hard to strengthen his arm and improve his mechanics, Vogt also had to overcome personal hardship away from the diamond. Growing up in a one-parent family, Vogt lost his mother Christa at the age of 13 to a heart condition. He and his younger brothers Chris and Chuck, who will attend KSC in the fall, were adopted by Rusty Matteson, a long-time legion coach, who not only provided Vogt with a much-needed father figure, but also saw and helped develop his baseball talent. "If you know where Corey came from and what he's been through, it's just an awesome story," said Testo. "I'm so excited for him."

            Vogt had an equally impressive senior year, striking out 30 batters in 22.1 innings on the way to earning All-LEC honors for the second straight season.

            Anxious to begin his professional career, Vogt says the Red Sox haven't told him where he will be assigned. "People have told me that they usually start college pitchers at the single-A level. I hope I go to the Lowell Spinners, so I can stay in New England."

            Vogt isn't the first Owl with major league aspirations. Coming out of Fall Mountain Regional High School, Conrad Fisk turned down an opportunity to sign with the Phillies before coming to Keene State in 1968, and John Luopa, who held numerous records during his four-year KSC career (1987–90), attended several major league tryouts after playing with the Owls. But Vogt will have a special place in Keene State baseball history. "He's the first Keene State player drafted and, hopefully, not the last," said Howe.