As Caleb Lomavita found himself rated as high as the top 20 on pre-draft prospect rankings list, the stress leading up to Sunday only got elevated.

When it came time to sit down and watch the first two rounds of the Major League Baseball Draft, Lomavita tried to keep things as cool and simple as he could.

Instead of focusing intently on his TV screen, Lomavita found a deck of cards and started dealing hands of the card game ‘pepito’ with his family while home in Hawaii. The game was only interrupted once he heard his name called as the 39th overall pick of the Washington Nationals.

“I think I was super relived,” Lomavita said in a phone interview Sunday. “I’m excited. I think it was pretty nerve-wracking all the way up until I got picked. My advisors were trying to find the right fit for me.”

The 5-foot-11 catching prospect, who at Saint Louis played a limited senior season and had his junior year wiped out completely by the COVID-19 pandemic, was rewarded for making a decision that he says was a lot easier for him than most other players in his position.

Faced with an opportunity to get drafted out of high school, Lomavita turned down a significant signing bonus offer to play three seasons at Cal.

He was rewarded Sunday as the 39th overall pick which has a slot value of $2.395 million.

“I think for me it was pretty easy because I have a lot of good supporters on my side,” Lomavita said. “I made sure I knew who were my biggest supporters and who I wanted to be like when I grew up and was able to have those tough conversations with the people you love.”

After playing a limited amount of baseball during the pandemic, Lomavita shined the moment he stepped foot on the Cal Berkeley campus.

He was named a Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American after his first season at Cal and made the Cape Cod League All-Star game both summers he played in it.

Lomavita is seventh on Cal’s career list in home runs with 38 and tied for ninth with 141 RBIs.

As a junior, he hit a career-best .322 with 13 doubles, 15 homers, 51 runs scored and 52 RBIs. He also stole 12 bases.

In the lead up to the draft, Lomavita said he trusted his advisors to handle most of the work. He was just waiting to find out where he would go.

“I don’t really know,” Lomavita said about how much talks they had with the Nationals. “I just kind of left it up to them and trusted them.”

Lomavita is the 20th Crusader alum selected in the draft and first since Aiva Arquette, who was drafted out of high school in 2022 but decided to attend Washington instead.

He is the highest draft pick taken with Hawaii ties since Waiakea’s Kodi Medeiros was taken out of high school with the 12th overall pick by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2014 draft.

Washington had previously never drafted a player who went to high school in Hawaii.

The draft will continue today with rounds 3-10 beginning at 8 a.m. Hawaii time. Rounds 11-20 will happen Tuesday beginning at the same time.

Kamehameha’s Jace Souza, Kamehameha-Maui’s Ka’imi Kahalekai and Saint Louis teammates Sean Yamaguchi and Tanner Chun are among the top high schools prospects on the board from Hawaii.

For players from Hawaii not only this week, but in years to come, faced with making the tough decision between signing or turning pro, Lomavita had one piece of advice.

“Have a good core of people who you love and trust,” Lomavita said. “Surround yourself with the right people and have the tough talks. Make sure you have a good idea of what you want to do after you have talked with the ones you love the most.”