Jun 9, 2015 By Eleanor Bailey 5 min read

Ian Happ arose June 8 feeling a bit anxious. The Major League Baseball amateur draft would not begin until 7 p.m. That meant there was plenty of time before the Chicago Cubs would make the Mt. Lebanon High School graduate and University of Cincinnati junior its first-round pick.

Agreeing that the waiting was the hardest part, Happ said he tried to stay busy during the day. He played a round of golf and carded an 80. “I played well but not as good as I wanted,” he said.

Later that evening, surrounded by his family in Columbus, Happ fared better than expected. He was selected ninth overall in the draft by the Cubs.

“It’s unbelievable,” Happ said. “I’m just excited and thankful for this opportunity.”

Thanks to his play at Cincinnati, Happ improved his chances of becoming a major leaguer. During his three seasons with the Bearcats, Happ compiled a .338 batting average with 25 roundtrippers and 107 RBI.

This spring, Happ batted .369 with 47 runs scored, 18 doubles, 14 home runs and 44 RBIS. He led the American Athletic Conference in batting average this spring. He also ranked tops in on-base percentage (.492), slugging percentage (.672), total bases (133) and walks (49).

“Ian has proved to be one of the better performers in college baseball over the past couple of seasons,” said Jason McLeod, Cubs senior vice president of scouting and player development. “He’s a switch-hitter who hits for average and power while showing advanced plate discipline. We feel he’s athletic enough to play the infield or outfield.”

Though he started in the outfield for the Bearcats, Happ can play second base. He was an infielder during his playing days at Mt. Lebanon, where he owned a .449 career batting average and was The Almanac’s MVP in 2012.

Those formative years laid the foundation for Happ’s meteoric rise. When he was 14 and made the varsity team as a freshman, he said, was the turning point. “That was a big step for me. It motivated me and I started putting in the extra hard work.”

During the summer months, Happ trained extensively with his high school manager, Patt McCloskey. Plus, he worked on his hitting, practicing with his father, Keith, and his brother, Chris, who played collegiately at Duquesne.

“Everything came together. All the hard workouts with Coach McCloskey; he never gave up on me. The batting practices with my dad and brother,” Happ said. “All that energy and effort. My brother was always 100 percent behind me. He was the best role model I could have had. He helped me develop my work ethic.”

That characteristic propelled Happ to become one of the top draft picks.

“For Ian, this is the culmination of all his hard work,” said McCloskey. “Since he was 14, he set his sights on this as his ultimate goal and he wasn’t going to be denied.”

Indeed not. Upon graduation and one season into his career at Cincinnati, Happ traveled to New England to hone his skills further. He made a name for himself the past two summers competing in the prestigious Cape Cod league, which features the country’s top college players and where wooden bats are used instead of the metal sticks preferred at the collegiate level. He earned all-star status twice in the league.

Happ improved his MLB stock by earning every honor possible this past spring. In addition to being named AAC Player of the Year, Happ was recognized by Collegiate Baseball as a second-team Louisville Slugger All-American. He was also a first-team Capital One Academic All-American with a 3.68 grade point average in finance. Happ also was named one of 21 semifinalists for the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award, given to the best amateur player in the country.

Prior to the draft, Happ had traveled to Chicago a few times. He even met with the front office. “Things started coming together last week but you never know for sure,” Happ said.

When word finally came that the Cubs had chosen him, Happ said that he was elated.

“It was exciting to be with my family and share with them the culmination of this moment.”

Happ expected to travel to Chicago within days of the draft. He set no timetable for his big league debut. For now, he has modest goals. “I want to contribute as much as I can and be a good teammate,” said the 20-year-old son of Mary Beth Happ.

“I’d love to help the Cubs win a Series but I’ll take things as they come. I’m excited to see what happens.”

All of Mt. Lebanon is excited, too. With his selection, Happ became the first player in University of Cincinnati and Mt. Lebanon High School history to be chosen in the opening round. Former Bearcat and current Pirate Josh Harrison was drafted in the sixth round and Lebo’s Josh Wilson was taken in the third round in 1999. The Blue Devils have had six players drafted out of high school, including Don Kelly, who went to the Detroit Tigers after excelling at Point Park.

“We’ve been fortunate to have a couple of talented individuals,” said McCloskey, “but we haven’t had somebody drafted as high as Ian. The Cubs wouldn’t have taken him in that position if they didn’t think he would make an impact with them at that level in a short amount of time. I think with his work ethic, Ian is going to take advantage of his opportunity.

“This is the best day ever for the Mt. Lebanon baseball program,” McCloskey continued. “I cannot put into words what it was like watching his name being called on television. All of Mt. Lebanon is proud of Ian.”