Hempstead, NY - Former Hofstra University baseball pitcher John Rooney was called up to the majors Sunday following a whirlwind weekend that saw him get traded from the Miami Marlins organization to the Houston Astros organization Saturday. Houston then added Rooney to its 40-man roster and called him up for their series finale in Boston. Rooney is the first Hofstra baseball player since Ken Singleton (1970-84) to be called up the the major leagues and is just the fourth member of the Pride to play at the highest level, joining Don Taussig (1958-62), Brant Alyea (1965-72), and Singleton.

Rooney, who pitched at Hofstra from 2016 through 2018, was a  third round selection by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2018 MLB Draft. He worked his way through the Dodgers system, reaching AAA ball before becoming a free agent last offseason. He signed with Miami and was playing for the Marlins AAA team, the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, before being traded. He was 2-1 with four saves in 38 appearances this season. Rooney compiled a 2.45 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 33 innings of work. During his minor league career, Rooney was 27-19 with eight saves in 204 appearances (51 starts). He owns a 3.85 ERA with 436 strikeouts in 414 innings pitched. 

Rooney was 8-2 with a 1.23 ERA and 108 strikeouts in 95 innings over 13 starts in 2018. He threw three complete games and two solo shutouts, while holding opposing batters to a .166 average. He led the CAA and ranked second in the nation in ERA. In addition, he rewrote the Hofstra record book as his ERA, strikeout total and innings pitched are each single season records, and his 271 career strikeouts are the most in program history. He finished his Hofstra career with 15 wins (third all-time), a 3.69 ERA and a .239 batting average against. 

He was named a First Team Rawlings/American Baseball Coaches Association All-American in 2018, as well as earning All-America nods from Baseball America (second team), D1 Baseball (second team), Perfect Game Baseball (second team), the National Collegiate Baseball Writers (third team), and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper (third team).
 
Rooney was also a semifinalist for the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award and the College Baseball Foundation Pitcher of the Year Award, in addition to earning CAA and ECAC Pitcher of the Year honors, as well as being a first team All-CAA and All-ECAC selection. He was also a First Team ABCA/Rawlings All-East Region selection.

Rooney will be looking to make his MLB debut in Miami as the Astros open a three-game series Monday, August 4.