Six more current Mississippi State baseball players heard their names called in the final day of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player draft Wednesday.
As many as three of those players could leave school early to pursue their professional opportunities.
Redshirt sophomore pitcher Ethan Small joined senior pitchers JP France, Zach Neff, and Jacob Billingsley, junior second baseman Hunter Stovall, and junior center fielder Jake Mangum in being selected on the final day of the three-day, 40-round annual event.
Mangum, who was selected in the 32nd round (950th overall pick) by the New York Mets, announced Wednesday night on Twitter he will return to MSU for his senior season.
“For the last three years it’s truly been an honor to wear the Mississippi State uniform,” Mangum tweeted. “I’ve built lifelong relationships with great teammates and coach(es), and being able to play at Dudy Noble in front of the best college baseball fans in the country is something I will never forget.
“With that being said, I would like to thank all the Major League teams that showed interest in me over the past two days and especially the New York Mets for drafting me and giving me an opportunity to play at the next level. However, I am thankful to return to MSU for my fourth and final season. But first, we have unfinished business in 2018.”
The Houston Astros used the 432nd overall pick to select France in the 14th round. France, a graduate transfer from Tulane, has been a valuable member of the bullpen. He showed his versatility Monday in allowing one run and two hits in a seven-inning start against Oklahoma in the championship game of the NCAA tournament’s Tallahassee Regional.
The Minnesota Twins used the 934th pick to take Neff in the 31st round. Last year, the Twins drafted MSU first baseman Brent Rooker, who has worked his way up to the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts.
Neff, a graduate transfer from Austin Peay, enters the Nashville Super Regional with a 3.46 earned run average in 24 appearances (two starts).
The Houston Astros selected Billingsley with the 972nd pick in the 32nd round. Billingsley helped keep MSU’s season alive with a seven-inning start in a 9-8 victory against Samford in an elimination game at the Tallahassee Regional.
Billingsley (5-3, 5.05 ERA) could start Game 3 of the Super Regional.
The Arizona Diamondbacks selected Ethan Small in the 26th round with the 789th overall pick. Small’s sophomore season, his first back from Tommy John surgery, saw him lead the starting rotation with a 2.94 ERA and strike out 107 in 85 2/3 innings.
The Colorado Rockies selected Stovall with the 636th pick in the 21st round. Hindered by injuries last season, Stovall is hitting .315 this season with 15 doubles, four triples, and two home runs.
Four Ole Miss players taken on final day of draft
Ole Miss’ James McArthur, Ryan Olenek, Will Golsan, and Parker Caracci were selected Wednesday in the final day of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player draft.
McArthur went in the 12th round to the Philadelphia Phillies, Olenek was chosen in the 17th round by the San Francisco Giants, Golsan was selected in the 26th by the Colorado Rockies, and Caracci was tabbed in the 37th round by the Toronto Blue Jays.
Those players join Ryan Rolison (first round, Colorado Rockies), Nick Fortes (fourth round, Miami Marlins), and Brady Feigl (fifth round, Oakland Athletics) to give Ole Miss 106 players drafted in Mike Bianco’s tenure as coach at the school.
McArthur, a junior, was 6-1 with a 4.48 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 16 starts. He has 15 wins and 179 strikeouts in his career as a Rebel.
Olenek earned first-team All-Southeastern Conference honors in a season in which he had a 23-game hitting streak and he led the team with a .350 batting average and 83 hits. He and Grae Kessinger led the team with 18 doubles.
Statistically, Olenek was the toughest player to strike out in the SEC. He also was a finalist for the Ferriss Trophy, which is awarded to the most outstanding college baseball player in the state of Mississippi.
Caracci (5-2, 2.25) had a team-high 10 saves as part of a pitching staff that tied the program record for saves in a season (21). He struck out 73 in 48 innings. Caracci was named second-team All-SEC and a second-team All-American by Baseball America.
Alabama has three taken in draft
Alabama junior infielders Cobie Vance (Oakland A’s, 18th round, 533rd overall) and Jett Manning (San Francisco Giants, 20th round, 586th overall) and senior infielder Chandler Avant (New York Mets, 30th round, 890th overall) were selected Wednesday on the final day of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player draft.
Vance and Manning were chosen as shortstops, while Avant was drafted as a second baseman.
Vance has started all 168 games in his three seasons at Alabama. He has 185 hits in that span, which ranks in the top two for hits on the team in each season.
In 2018, Vance paced the Crimson Tide in hits (66), runs (43), and total bases (97). He finished second on this year’s team in home runs with six, four of which came across his final 12 games.
Manning started 53 games and was fourth on the team in hits with 45 and finished with a .251 average. Manning tied for fourth in multi-hit games with 10 and collected a pair of five-game hitting streaks throughout his lone season at Alabama.
Avant had a team-high 22 multi-hit efforts and a team-leading 12 multi-RBI performances while pacing Alabama in RBIs with 38 and ranking second in runs scored with 37.
With five players selected in the draft, Alabama increased its all-time draft pick total to 153 since the event began in 1966. Alabama has had at least one player selected in 40 consecutive years dating back to 1979.
Also Wednesday, five Alabama signees were drafted. Infielder Bryan Lavastida (Cleveland Indians, 15th round), pitchers Dylan Smith (San Diego Padres, 18th), Tyler Ras (Chicago Cubs, 33rd), and Will Freeman (San Diego Padres 36th), and catcher Brett Auerbach (Colorado Rockies, 40th) were selected. The group joins fellow commit Patrick “P.J.” Hilson, who was selected in round six by the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday afternoon.
All undergraduate players are eligible to return to the University to continue their careers at Alabama if they don’t sign a professional contract.
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