CINCINNATI – Getting Drafted by a Major League organization once, let alone a second time, and playing professional baseball was hard to fathom for Luke Holman when he was a young boy.

But it happened when Holman, a childhood cancer survivor and starting pitcher from LSU, was taken by the Reds with the No. 71 selection in Competitive Balance Round B on Sunday night.

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"Your dream is you want to get drafted and see your name pop up. It’s kind of exciting," Holman said.

Just shy of his eighth birthday while growing up in Pennsylvania, Holman was diagnosed with anaplastic large cell lymphoma -- a rare form of blood cancer.

"When I heard the news and all that, I didn’t really think I’d have a future in baseball or sports because I was taking chemo," said Holman, who is 21 now. "I was a lot weaker. I was looking at big leaguers and stuff and I’m like, ‘I don’t know how I am going to get to where they’re at.’

"Then [I heard] that Jon Lester -- pitching at the time for the Red Sox -- had the same type of cancer in the same spot as me. Seeing that really made me think 'I could have a bright future if I just keep putting the work in and keep going at it'. It was never stopping, and keep working hard.”

Lester was a rookie in 2006 with Boston when he received his cancer diagnosis. The left-handed starting pitcher was able to beat the disease and return to pitching for the Red Sox in 2007 and win a World Series that season.

Holman wrote to Lester and told him his story.

“He sent me dirt from Fenway [Park] and a signed ball, as well. It’s pretty cool," Holman said.

After a year of treatment, Holman was also ready to resume his baseball journey. Initially, he didn't know if he would be able to have success. But he figured out something about pitching that would serve him well later on.

“Coming off chemo, you’re a lot slower than everyone. I didn’t have much [velocity]," Holman said. "I was kind of picking around corners and learning how to pitch, honestly. After five years, the body cells kind of renew. I’d say around five-to-seven years later, I started to become pretty good at baseball.

"I was pitching really well, and hitting really well and that’s when I knew baseball was going to be a fun path to take.”

At Wilson High School in West Lawn, Pa., Holman was rated as the No. 3 overall player in the state and went 7-1 with a 0.88 ERA, 113 strikeouts and 23 walks over 13 games his senior season.

The Blue Jays selected Holman with their 20th-round pick in 2021, but he did not sign and played college ball for Alabama.

"When you’re 18, you don’t know what goes on in the Majors, in the pros," Holman said. "You’re playing with 24 year olds and kind of living away from home. I think college is a great way to grow up and learn more about yourself."

Holman struggled during his freshman season working out of the bullpen at Alabama but became their No. 1 starter as a sophomore. He posted a 4.05 ERA over 31 games -- including 15 starts -- over 100 innings with 111 strikeouts.

For his junior year, Holman transferred to LSU and went 9-4 with a 2.75 ERA, 33 walks and 127 strikeouts over 91 2/3 innings and 16 starts. He was among the SEC conference leaders in strikeouts, opponent batting average, ERA, wins and innings.

“My confidence grew a lot at LSU," Holman said. "I got a routine down, and I really got better at the pitching side of things. I learned to pitch off my stuff, and I think I became a really good pitcher there with my slider, where I am throwing my pitches and just learning about myself.”

MLB Pipeline ranked Holman as the No. 45 Draft prospect. The Reds had kept tabs on him going back to high school.

“He is a really high pitchability and high-IQ starter," Reds amateur scouting director Joe Katuska said. "He doesn’t have the biggest fastball in the Draft class, but it plays up because he has a four-pitch mix that he knows how to use. He really has the ability to use contrast to get hitters out, keep you guessing, locate and we really saw him do it when he was at Alabama before this year at LSU.”

Holman was with his family in Pennsylvania when word of his selection came from Cincinnati.

"I’m kind of ready to get started being a pro. I’m a pro right now," Holman said. "I’m excited to start this journey.”