Billingsley All-American, again

7/29/2003

Defiance High School graduate Chad Billingsley, who was selected with the 24th pick in the first round of the June 3 Major League Baseball draft by Los Angeles, has been named a first-team high school All-American for the second straight season.

Billingsley was one of four pitchers selected to the Rawlings All-American first team by the National High School Baseball Coaches Association. Last season he made the first team at the utility position.

The hard-throwing right-hander, whose fastball has been clocked as high as 96 mph, posted a 7-2 record with a 1.21 earned-run average and 138 strikeouts in 69 innings in his senior season with the Bulldogs. He closed his four-year prep career with a state-record 502 strikeouts, passing the prior mark held by Granville's Kory Hartman (438, 1992-95). Also an outfielder, Billingsley batted .383 with 93 runs batted in and a school-record 24 home runs.

The 6-2, 215-pound Defiance ace turned down a scholarship offer from the University of South Carolina and signed with the Dodgers within a week of being drafted.