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Wednesday’s final day of the 2006 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft went quite well for Florida Gulf Coast University coach Dave Tollett.

First of all, senior Jason Louwsma was picked by Cincinnati in the 29th round (No. 864 overall).

“He’s a great baseball player and a great human being,” Tollett said. “He represented us very well as a leader and as a player. You just want the best to happen to those type of kids.

“He deserves a shot.”

And none of Tollett’s signees were drafted, which was a concern. Tollett was particularly worried about losing Polk Community College pitcher Westley Spickard and teammate Josh Appelbaum, a third baseman, before he got them.

So Tollett was relieved Wednesday night.

“Yes, I am. We’re happy that all those kids are going to show up,” he said. “Hopefully you do things the right way and then your kids get a chance to go.”

Junior right-hander Chris Hassen, already the school’s record holder in wins and strikeouts, was not selected, and Tollett said Hassen told him before the draft he would return to FGCU for his senior season in such a scenario.

Hassen was 5-1 with a 2.04 ERA last season, but tendinitis in his throwing shoulder caused him to miss the bulk of the action from mid-March on. Because of that, Tollett wasn’t surprised that Hassen’s name did not get called.

“No, not really, just because he didn’t throw enough late, and that probably scared some teams off,” Tollett said.

Senior Ryan Williams, a lefty from Estero with a 6-1 record and 4.20 ERA, also was not drafted. But that doesn’t mean Williams has struck out.

“I’ve had calls on him from guys that said if he was not drafted, they would sign him as a free agent,” Tollett said.

Louwsma, an All-South Region Division II third baseman, was at his family’s home in Sanford when he heard the news. Actually, his stepfather heard it. They were monitoring the situation through MLB.com’s Draft Tracker option, but they lost the visual while retaining the audio. Louwsma was not sure who had drafted him until a few minutes later, when the Reds’ Greg Zunino called.

“I was getting pretty nervous,” said Louwsma, a 6-foot-2, 205-pounder who hit .425 with 10 home runs and a team-leading 74 RBIs last season. “But now I’m just so excited. The Reds have their spring training just down the road in Sarasota, so this is great.

“I just want to thank Coach Tollett for everything. He really helped me the whole way.”

Junior pitcher Justin Stiver, who became the first-ever FGCU draftee when Houston took him in the 17th round on Tuesday, has not yet signed. He will not return to FGCU and expects to meet with an Astros representative in the coming days to draw up a contract agreement.

“We’re really happy for Stiver and Louwsma,” Tollett said.