Two recent Southwest Louisiana high school graduates were taken on the final day of the MLB amateur draft in Sulphur’s Jake Brown and Barbe’s Donovan LaSalle.

Brown, a southpaw pitcher, was drafted in the 16th round, 471st overall, by the Texas Rangers, while LaSalle went in the 19th round, 559th overall, to the Kansas City Royals.

Now comes the tough decision of whether to forgo playing at the college level or turning pro.

Neither had announced a decision as of press time.

In an interview with the American Press on Monday, Brown said that it would take a strong offer to convince him to skip out on playing for defending national champion LSU.

LaSalle (6-2, 190 pounds), a power hitting outfielder who signed with Oklahoma State, was named Louisiana Mr. Baseball and Class 5A MVP by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association after leading Barbe to its 12th state championship in a come-from-behind 10-4 win over West Monroe.

LaSalle hit a grand slam in the seventh inning with Bucs down 4-1.

LaSalle batted .510 with 10 home runs, 43 runs batted in, 57 runs scored and 33 stolen bases.

Barbe went 39-1 this season, the best winning percentage in Class 5A history in the state.

Brown (6-2, 180), the Gatorade Louisiana Player of the Year, led the Sulphur Tors to the Nonselect Division I semifinals in his final high school season and a 34-5 record.

As a senior, he went 10-2 with a 1.71 earned run average and his second consecutive 100-strikeout season (118) with 27 walks and four hit batters.

Sam Houston infielder Dylan Thompson (6-2, 180), an LSU signee, went undrafted.

He helped lead Sam Houston to the state tournament for the fifth time in seven seasons.