June 5, 2003

Jim Popp, the Dukes' senior pitcher from Brashear High School in Pittsburgh, PA, was selected in the 50th round by the San Francisco Giants on the second day of Major League Baseball's 2003 Draft. Popp had previously been picked in the 48th round by the Colorado Rockies following his junior season last June.

Popp, who battled some injury problems in his final collegiate campaign, still tied for the team lead in wins with a 6-4 record and 4.89 ERA in 53.1 innings pitched. Last season Popp had a 3-3 record with a 3.54 ERA, again in 53.1 innings. Popp pitched four complete games in nine starts, striking out 38 batters while allowing 19 walks.

The Dukes made their first ever Atlantic 10 Championship Tournament appearance following the 2003 regular season as the fourth seed but were knocked out of the double elimination event after losses to Xavier and Rhode Island. Duquesne finished the 2003 campaign with a 25-29 overall record under tenth-year head coach Mike Wilson. The Red and Blue took second place in the A-10's West Division with a 15-9 league mark.

Other players drafted under Wilson's tutelage are pitcher Joe Beimel (1998), who is in his third straight season with the Pittsburgh Pirates major league club, and outfielder B.J. Barns (1999), who is now with the Class A Williamsport Crosscutters in the Pirates' organization.