MONROE, La. – ULM junior right-handed pitcher Nicholas Judice was selected by the New York Yankees in the eighth round with the 252nd overall pick of the Major League Baseball Draft Monday afternoon.

He becomes the first Warhawk selected in the first 10 rounds of the MLB Draft since pitcher Matt Green was taken in the second round by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2005.

He is the first ULM player selected in the MLB Draft since Chad Bell (19th round, 585th overall, New York Yankees), Trent Tingelstad (22nd round, 666th overall, Seattle) and Trey Jeans (33rd round, 980th overall, Chicago White Sox) were each selected in the 2019 draft.

Judice was ULM's first option out of the bullpen before transitioning to the starting rotation for the final three weekends of the 2023 season. The Baton Rouge, Louisiana, product posted a 3-3 record and two saves, making 21 appearances with three starts, posting a 3.74 ERA over 53 innings, allowing 26 runs, 22 earned, on 45 hits with 66 strikeouts to 15 walks.

In his final outing of 2023, he allowed just one run on five hits with one walk and three strikeouts in ULM's 6-1 win at Texas State on May 19. Eleven of his 18 bullpen appearances covered at least two innings and he had eight scoreless outings. He threw three scoreless and hitless innings with four strikeouts for his first save against SIUE and fired a scoreless ninth inning for a save at Central Arkansas. He pitched two innings for the win against Memphis and tossed a scoreless frame for a win at Louisiana Tech. His bullpen only numbers included a 3.38 ERA and 37 1/3 innings pitched over 18 appearances, going 2-1 with two saves. He allowed 17 runs, 14 earned, on 29 hits with 11 walks and 50 of his 66 strikeouts.

He has made 59 career appearances with six starts over four seasons at ULM, with an 8-5 record, two saves and a 4.09 ERA over 114 1/3 innings. He has 134 strikeouts to 51 walks in his career.