St. Francis is quickly becoming a breeding house for Division I baseball athletes. On Monday night, senior-to-be shortstop David Olmedo-Barrera, a two-time Star-News All-Area selection, committed to Cal State Fullerton.

St. Francis baseball coach Brian Esquival found out Tuesday morning when he woke up to a Olmedo-Barrera voicemail.

“He called me, left a message Monday night but I was already in bed,” Esquival said. “When I got up Tuesday morning I got the message. He sounded really excited. I think he wanted to take care of this as early as possible because now he can concentrate on baseball and not so much worry about ‘Who’s looking at me.’ It’s now taken care of and he can now play baseball and have some fun.”

Esquival said Cal State Fullerton, a four-time national champion, was the best fit for him. Esquival added there were other schools coming after the standout shortstop who also is a two-time All-Mission League selection.

“I know UCLA was in the mix,” Esquival said. “He spoke to Oregon and a few schools back East. San Luis Obispo was there, too. There were a few schools that were intersted but I think he just thought this was the best fit for him. I’m not sure it’ll be as a shortstop, maybe second base. I don’t know for a fact. My guess is it’s probably going to be somewhere up the middle, but more towards second base.”

In just the last couple years, St. Francis has sent three players to major Division I schools. Star-News All-Area catcher David Hubinger is getting ready to start at Pepperdine; A.J. Berglund is at UCSB and Ethan Bramschreiber is at Northwestern.

“It’s good for the program,” Esquival said. “It’s just good news.”