Photo by Rachel Levitin

American University rising junior and basketball player Stephen Lumpkins achieved an athletic feat that no other Division I college basketball player in the city has this year – he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 42^nd round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Wednesday.

Lumpkins, who is known for playing forward with the American Eagles, played baseball throughout high school and is on a collegiate summer league team at the moment.

Although he entered the Eagle lineup his freshman year, Lumpkins’ love for baseball did not falter. The 6’8” California native started recruiting basketball teammates to “play catch” with him last summer while at home.

“I’d like to pursue a career in professional baseball,” he told American’s Kogod News.

Lumpkins has until mid-August to make his final decision about whether or not he will return to AU and continue to play Division I basketball or join the Pirates farm system.

Rachel Levitin

Rachel moved to DC in the fall of 2005 to study Journalism and Music at American University. When she’s not keeping up with the latest Major League Baseball news, she works on making music as an accomplished singer-songwriter and was even a featured performer/speaker at TEDxDupont Circle in 2012. Rachel has also contributed to The Washington Examiner and MASN Sports’ Nationals Buzz as a guest blogger. See why she loves DC. E-Mail: rachel@welovedc.com.