GORHAM, Maine — For University of Southern Maine standout shortstop Sam Dexter of Oakland, the waiting game to see if he would be drafted is over, as the Chicago White Sox selected the two-time NCAA Division III All-American in the 23rd round of the annual Major League Baseball draft Saturday.
Joe Cronin, a former Scarborough High star, was also drafted as he was selected in the 34th round by the Minnesota Twins.
Dexter is the first USM player to be drafted since the Cincinnati Reds picked Chris Burleson in the 36th round in 2009, and the 12th USM player to be drafted since 1987.
The 2015 ABCA/Rawlings Gold Bat Award winner as the Division III Player of the Year, Dexter batted .404 with 53 runs scored, a single-season record-tying 23 doubles, three triples, five home runs, 44 RBIs and 19 stolen bases this season.
The former Messalonskee High School standout also had a .474 on-base percentage, a .652 slugging percentage and a sparkling .971 fielding percentage. He was named to the ABCA/Rawlings Division III and the D3baseball.com All-America first teams for the second straight year.
The two-time Little East Conference Player of the Year, and 2013 LEC Rookie of the Year, Dexter led the conference this season in runs scored, hits, doubles and total bases, and was among the top five in batting average, triples, RBI and stolen bases.
A four-time all-region shortstop, Dexter finished his collegiate career batting .387 with 81 doubles, nine triples, 19 homers, 48 stolen bases and 157 RBIs.
He became the second player in NCAA Division III history to reach 300 career hits, achieving that milestone against Framingham State University on May 1.
Southern Maine finished the 2016 season 29-13 overall and shared the LEC regular season title with the University of Massachusetts Boston at 10-4.
Cronin, a senior infielder for the Boston College Eagles, is hitting .271 this season with 36 RBIs and four homers.