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The White Sox only had to look to Evanston to find their 19th round selection in the MLB Draft in Northwestern University shortstop Shawn Goosenberg.
He has been a three-year starter for the Wildcats, earning all-Big Ten freshman team and all-Big Ten third team honors in 2019 after slashing .288/.338/.397 with a team-high 14 doubles and just 29 strikeouts in 184 at-bats.
As a junior, the 6’1” Goosenberg had a breakout season for the Wildcats. He started to hit for power (11 home runs) and slashed an incredible .358/.417/.708 to earn all-Big Ten first team honors. He also hit nine doubles, stole six bases and struck out 25 times across 28 starts (120 at-bats). In the Cape Cop League this summer, Goosenberg hit .270/.341/.378 with a home run and 14 strikeouts in 41 plate appearances.
“He’s the best hitter I’ve ever coached,” Northwestern coach Spencer Allen said to the Daily Northwestern.
The Goose got loose!@ShawnGoosenberg hits a to walk it off for the Wildcats.#NCAABaseball x @NUCatsBaseball pic.twitter.com/yFijK4PLR6
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAACWS) April 10, 2021
While he’s seemed to figure out how to hit for power and average, Goosenberg did commit 12 errors in 28 games. That said, it could’ve simply been a down year given he had 10 errors in his first 59 career games.
Goosenberg has been a star everywhere he’s played, though. He won a gold medal with Team USA in the 2017 Maccabiah Games in Israel, where he was named the tournament MVP by hitting .529 in five games. He also won a gold medal in the 2017 USA Baseball National Team Championships.