Duke baseball coach Chris Pollard reacts to Nick Conte getting drafted

Nick Conte, despite collegiate injuries, heard his name called in the eighth round of the MLB draft, and Chris Pollard couldn’t be happier.

Despite dealing with some injuries that limited his time on the mound in Durham, Nick Conte is headed to the MLB.

The Kansas City Royals picked the right-handed pitcher in the eighth round of the 2024 draft on Monday, making him the third Blue Devil off the board. Duke baseball coach Chris Pollard went to social media to describe how happy he was for his former arm.

“Testament to resilience!” Pollard wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “(Conte) has shown grit and an unrelenting commitment to process. His best baseball is ahead of him. Go be great.”

Conte, who missed the entire 2023 season due to injury, only made 20 appearances during his four years in Durham. He finished 2024 with a career-best 4.50 ERA after spending six innings on the mound, and he struck out eight batters while allowing one extra-base hit. He only coughed up 14 hits over his entire Blue Devils career with only two going for multiple bases.

Conte joined Jonathan Santucci (second round, New York Mets) and Charlie Beilenson (fifth round, Seattle Mariners) as Blue Devils on the draft board.