LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It was a shortened season, but it still ended with Brandon Pfaadt fulfilling a big dream.

Late Monday night, the Bellarmine University junior right-hander signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks, who had selected the Louisville native in the fifth round of the Major League Baseball draft with the 149th overall pick.

"It's been a dream since I started playing baseball," Pfaadt said of getting drafted and signing a professional deal. "I'm grateful and so excited. As I was signing, L.O. (Bellarmine Coach Larry Owens) went through my head. I wouldn't be in this position today without him by my side."

Pfaadt became the ninth player in program history to be chosen in the MLB draft and first since left-hander Michael Messier was taken in the 15th round by the Kansas City Royals in 2016. In any other season, his selection would have been a foregone conclusion. However, as yet another fallout of the coronavirus, this year's draft was reduced from 40 rounds to only five, meaning Pfaadt needed to be among the top two highest draft picks in program history just to get selected — right-hander Todd Wellemeyer was chosen in the fourth round by the Chicago Cubs in 2000.

"I was waiting on that call for five hours that day," Pfaadt said with a laugh. "It wasn't a for-sure thing (that I would get drafted). There was a lot of anxiety throughout the whole family. It was a relief when I got the call (from the Diamondbacks) and got picked."

Bellarmine's season lasted only 14 games before the coronavirus forced the cancellation of the remainder of the year. However, Pfaadt was undoubtedly among the early frontrunners for Great Lakes Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year after compiling a 3-1 record with a 1.38 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 26.0 innings pitched over five starts. The Trinity (Ky.) High School product earned a GLVC Pitcher of the Week nod and collected two wins in five days in what became the final week of the season.

Pfaadt had received plenty of attention from MLB scouts entering his junior season with the Knights. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound righty was ranked by D1Baseball in the fall as the 51st best college prospect eligible for the 2020 draft. The evaluation came after Pfaadt had gone 2-1 with a 2.81 ERA along with 34 strikeouts against eight walks in 32.0 innings pitched for the Wareham Gatemen over the summer in the famed Cape Cod League.

"I kept telling people that confidence was what I gained most out of the Cape, knowing I could compete with (college) players you'd see on TV," Pfaadt said. "I kept that motivation of being a smaller-school kid: keep grinding, keep playing hard."

Before this season was cut short with Bellarmine sitting at 10-4 and on a six-game win streak, the Knights had earned a berth in the DII NCAA Tournament in Pfaadt's first two seasons and won the GLVC Tournament title in 2019.

"Obviously the postseasons were a wild ride, but what I enjoyed was in my freshman and sophomore years watching (four-time All-GLVC pitcher) Eddie Mathis throw," Pfaadt said. "I learned so much from him. I enjoyed the experience of learning from the older guys when I was an underclassman and seeing the work pay off. That was what I enjoyed the most at Bellarmine."

With the minor league season canceled, Pfaadt said there's a lot of uncertainty about what comes next. He's continued to throw and work out since the college season ended. Pfaadt spent time as both a starter and reliever with the Knights; he'd prefer to start at the professional level.

"But being on a roster is all that really matters," he said.

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