Westmont Baseball Player Drafted by Los Angeles Dodgers

By Jacob Norling, Westmont College

On Monday, Westmont’s Simon Reid had his boyhood dream come true when the Los Angeles Dodgers selected him in the 10th round of the 2022 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Reid was the 315th overall pick of the draft, and the first player to have played their entire career at the NAIA level to be taken off the board.

Reid was in the living room of his home in McKinney, Texas when he heard his name called on the television, in what quickly became a euphoric moment for the family.

“I just started bawling when I hugged my Dad,” shared Simon. “All the emotions you would imagine in that moment, I felt every single one of them. I didn’t say a word for like three minutes.”

Getting drafted by any professional team would have invoked some level of emotion for Simon and the Reid family, but given it was the Dodgers, the moment was all the more special.

“We were full of excitement, anxiety, and amazement thinking it could even become true,” shared Simon’s father, Al, who passed down his own fandom to his three children. “When you hear your son’s name called and he gets drafted by the team he grew up watching and loving, the team I grew up watching and loving, the team my family grew up watching and loving, and the team our family and grew up watching and loving, it’s surreal.”

The opportunity comes as no surprise to the Westmont community that has witnessed the now-complete collegiate career of the youngest Reid sibling. Simon hit .378 with 12 home runs during his junior campaign while also leading the club with an OPS of 1.088.

In three seasons as a Warrior, Reid never failed to hit below .333, and officially ends his Westmont career as a top-10 hitter in program history in several categories. Perhaps most notably, Reid’s career batting average of .378 is the fourth-highest clip in program history, a history that dates back to 1958.

Reid is the second-highest drafted player in Westmont Baseball history, and the highest to go in more than 50 years. The only Westmont draftee to eclipse Reid is Jerry DaVanon, who went 17th overall in the first round to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1966.

Reid now joins several Warriors in the professional ranks. Most notably, Reid follows in his older brother, Bailey’s, footsteps. Bailey Reid (’20) signed as an undrafted free agent with the Chicago Cubs following his graduation, and is currently making his way through the minor league levels.

At the major league level, Andrew Vasquez (’15) has made several appearances this season for the Toronto Blue Jays, and Michael Stefanic (’18), Westmont’s all-time hits leader, made his big league debut earlier this month for the Los Angeles Angels.

In the Dodgers organization, Reid joins Rob Hill (’18) and Sean Coyne (’19) who are both instructors in the club’s minor league pitching department. Hill, who was named the club’s Director of Minor League Pitching this year, was the man who had the honor of breaking the news to Simon on draft day.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Hill, in regards to Westmont Baseball’s impact at the professional level. “I think it speaks to the way that Westmont can help people grow into the best versions of themselves, and Simon is another shining example of that.”

Looking back on his collegiate career, Reid said, “I’d always pray before games and try to be present while cherishing the moment. I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to put on that Westmont uniform and go to war with those guys.

“I’m going to miss being in that dugout, but we did it. We made it to the World Series together, and those guys are my friends for life.”

In the coming weeks, Reid will depart for the Dodgers’ extended spring training facility in Arizona and officially begin his professional career for his childhood team.