MLB Draft: USC program could be taking a hit

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There’s good news and bad news to report about the USC baseball program. The good news is that Coach Chad Kreuter, who just finished his third season, knows how to identify top talent based on the fact that three of his incoming recruits -- Jiovanni Mier, Matt Davidson and Brooks Pounders -- were drafted in the first two rounds Tuesday.

The bad news is they aren’t likely to show up this fall, which means USC will take another big hit, and that’s not good news for restless Trojan fans considering the team hasn’t made the NCAA playoffs since 2005.

It’s the annual dilemma for college coaches trying to figure out whether to offer scholarships to players who could be high draft picks.

UCLA Coach John Savage is also going to be sweating out the summer. UCLA signee Trayce Thompson was taken in the second round, and two other Bruin recruits, David Nick and Max Stassi, were fourth-round picks.

-- Eric Sondheimer