Antonelli set for California dreamin'

Matt Antonelli has never been to California, but professional baseball is trying to get him there.

Three years ago, as a senior at St. John's Prep, the Peabody native was selected in the 19th round of the Major League Baseball draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He elected not to sign and went to Wake Forest University. On Tuesday, the San Diego Padres made Antonelli the 17th pick in the first round of the first year player draft. Only two North Shore players in the last 17 years have been picked higher than Antonelli -- Jeff Juden (12th to the Houston Astros in 1989) and Jeff Allison (16th to the Florida Marlins in 2003).

It's been a meteoric rise for Antonelli, who in three years at Wake Forest batted .324 with 18 home runs, 110 runs batted in, and a school-record 128 walks. ``Three years ago, two years, or even last year, I couldn't ever predict that I'd be drafted in the first round," said Antonelli. ``The goal was to go as high as possible. To be one of the top 17 in the country I don't think I ever could have imagined that. It's just unbelievable."

The scouts' radar picked up Antonelli when he garnered all-star honors the last two summers in the Cape Cod League and he cemented his first-round status with an outstanding junior year, earning All-Atlantic Coast Conference first-team honors this spring while batting .333 with 11 home runs, 38 RBIs, and 15 stolen bases.

Antonelli said he plans to sign with San Diego ; team officials called him about a half hour before Tuesday's draft and said they likely would take him if he was there when their turn came . One of the questions about the 6-foot, 198-pound speedster is what position he will play in pro baseball. Antonelli, who played third base in college, said San Diego has mentioned second base and center field, at least to start.

``They liked that I played a lot of positions," he said.

Antonelli wasn't the only local player selected on the draft's first day. Former Malden Catholic pitcher Steve Richard , who pitches for Clemson University, was picked by the Seattle Mariners in the eighth round (No. 231) and Ipswich High ace Matt Small was tabbed by the Atlanta Braves in the 14th round (No. 430) and Northern Essex Community College lefthander Chris Anderson of Portsmouth, N.H., went to the Minnesota Twins in the 18th round (No. 546) .

Defender Fraser earns top honor

Masconomet senior defender Dean Fraser was named the Cape Ann League Player of the Year in lacrosse. The Providence College-bound Fraser was joined by teammates John O'Donnell, James Evans, Myles Walsh, John Manning, and Kasey Tremblay . Tremblay led Masco in scoring with 73 goals and 13 assists. CAL Division 1 champion Hamilton Wenham had two players named to the team, Steve Hamilton and Alex Madden . Also selected were J.J. Desmond of Ipswich, David Nicholson of Newburyport, and Pentucket's Chris George and Aaron McCraine . H-W's Jim LaSelva was named Coach of the Year.

Here and there

Former Revere track star Merzudin Ibric has continued his run of success as a postgraduate at Phillips Academy in Andover. Ibric helped the boys' outdoor track team win the New England Prep School Track Association Division 1 track and field title on May 20 at Loomis School in Connecticut. At the NEPSTA Division 1 championships, Ibric won the 200 meters in 22.40 seconds. The Wheaton College-bound sprinter followed that up by setting a school record in the 200 against archrival Phillips Exeter Academy on May 27 with a time of 21.8 seconds and teamed with Greg Hsu , Chad Hollis, and Jason Soule to set a school mark in the 4x400 meter relay (3:21.2).

Danielle Lopez of Danvers was named the New England Small College Athletic Conference Softball Player of the Year . The Tufts sophomore second baseman batted .383 with 11 home runs and 48 RBIs. The RBI total was the most by a Tufts second baseman and was tops in the NESCAC. Lopez led the conference in home runs, runs scored (43), total bases (99) , and plate appearances (162) .

Maria (Vicens) Ivanov of Ipswich was one of 25 former student-athletes inducted into the inaugural class of the Northeast-10 Conference Hall of Fame on June 5. Ivanov starred for the Bentley College volleyball team from 1986 to 1989. She was a three-time first-team all-conference selection and won back-to-back Northeast-10 Player of the Year awards in 1987 and 1988.

Christopher L. Gasper can be reached at cgasper@globe.com