Baseball: Nazareth’s Cooper Malamazian selected by Milwaukee Brewers in MLB Draft’s 17th round

Cooper Malamazian, who helped lead Nazareth to back-to-back state championships in 2022 and 2023 and an unbeaten regular season this spring, was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 17th round of the Major League Baseball Draft on July 16.

Malamazian, a shortstop committed to Indiana, was drafted with the 515th pick. Malamazian was the second Nazareth alum drafted last week.

On July 15, 2021 Nazareth graduate Ryan Smith, a pitcher at UIC, was drafted by the Houston Astros in the ninth round with the 283rd pick.

This past season, Malamazian batted .395 with 29 singles, nine doubles, two triples and five home runs. He drove in 32 runs and scored 49. He was one of six four-year starters at Nazareth who led the program to back-to-back Class 3A state championships, four regional titles and a combined 132 victories. Nazareth won 46 consecutive games between 2023 and 2024 and 17 consecutive playoff games between 2022 and 2024.

In last year’s state championship game, Malamazian made two huge defensive plays at shortstop and then pitched the final two innings to lead the Roadrunners to a 7-2 victory over Grayslake Central.

“As a freshman, I said Cooper would walk on as the best shortstop we’ve ever had and that’s not an insult to anybody we’ve had come through here,” Nazareth coach Lee Milano said after that game. “Cooper is a different player. He is a money player.”