SURPRISE, Ariz. -- John Coker was Jonathan Lucroy's roommate and best friend while playing baseball at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Lucroy, an All-American catcher at ULL, was drafted by the Brewers, while Coker joined the Oklahoma National Guard and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2011.
One day in September 2011, Coker was manning a machine gun when his team was attacked. As Coker related the story to The Acadiana Advocate, three soldiers were killed and two, including Coker, were severely wounded. He was shot in both legs and pelvis, and almost bled to death before being rescued.