By By SCOTT NOVAK / Niles Daily Star
Recent Niles graduate Asaad Ali was drafted on Thursday in the 40th round of the Major League Baseball June Amateur Draft by the Los Angeles Angels.
Ali was the 1,221st player selected in the draft. He said that he found out about it a couple of weeks ago that the Angels were going to draft him.
"I'm very honored," he said in a telephone interview Thursday afternoon. "When I found out I was blown away."
Ali, who is the son of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, hit just a shade under .400 this past season with a pair of home runs.
He caught a majority of the Vikings' games, but also has played first and even took a turn on the mound this season for Niles.
Ali was scheduled to speak with the Angels later on Thursday. He said that college baseball is still something he wants to do.
"I'm pretty positive that I will be going to Louisville next year," he said. "I still want to play collegiate baseball."
Although he knew that scouts had been at some of the Vikings' games this season, he didn't focus on it and was surprised when he found out.
Niles coach Mike Vota, who played minor league baseball, said that he was pleased, both for Ali and the Vikings' baseball program.
"He's a great kid," he said. "It's a heckuva honor for him. Anytime you get a chance to go up to the next level or the level beyond that's something to be proud of."
When asked if he had any advice for Ali, Vota said that he now has to make a tough decision.
"First thing he has to do is decide on whether he is going to go to Louisville next year or play Major League Baseball. What a great option that is to have. Either way he goes, it's going to be different. He will have to mature both physically and mentally because that's part of the process. Fortunately, there are people at both levels to help him with that. If he continues to work hard, he's got a chance to do some great things.
"I was just talking to the Lakeshore coach (Mark Nate), who just had his pitcher Zak Wasserman drafted and we feel like we're finally starting to get our kids some exposure. And sometimes that's all it takes is to get a couple of good kids in there. It's nice to get some positive things going down here in Southwest Michigan.
Wasserman, who was drafted in the 21st round by the San Francisco Giants, has already announced he will honor his commitment to Louisville.