Program-tying five Kats selected in 2015 MLB Draft
6/10/2015 7:15:00 PM | Baseball
HUNTSVILLE – With five players, including four pitchers, selected on final day of the 2015 MLB Draft on Wednesday, Sam Houston State baseball tied its program record set one season ago and moved its total draftees to 53 since the event began in 1965.
Logan Boyd was selected in the 19th round as the 561st pick by the Boston Red Sox; Andrew Godail was chosen in the 26th round as the 774th selection by the Philadelphia Phillies; Ryan Brinley was taken in 27th round as the 824th pick by the Washington Nationals; Collin Yelich was selected in the 29th round as the 870th pick by the Atlanta Braves and Alex Bisacca was taken in the 35th round as the 1,053rd pick by the New York Yankees.
“To have 10 guys drafted over the last two years at a school of our size shows you we're playing bigger than we are,” first-year head coach Matt Deggs said. “We're getting good players in here and really developing them. (With four pitchers going) it shows the work they put in and coach (Jay) Sirianni puts in with those guys.”
The selections marked the 10th straight season that at least one Bearkat had been chosen in the draft. Since 2000, a Sam Houston player has been picked in all but two drafts (2001, 2005).
Boyd, an Humble native and Atascocita High School product, posted a 6-4 record and 3.49 ERA in 15 starts this season. For his career, the junior lefty owns a 3.93 ERA in 149 innings pitching, holding opponents to a .251 average. As a sophomore, he logged 11 appearances and one start, including tossing three scoreless innings against TCU at the Fort Worth Regional, allowing just one hit.
Godail notched a 2.30 ERA behind a 5-6 record across 16 starts. The left-handed senior from The Woodlands led the squad with 88 strikeouts in 97 2-3 innings, limiting opponents to a .249 batting average. Godail struck out 10 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi hitters on two occasions in the month of May.
Brinley, a duel infielder and pitcher, secured a 2.74 ERA on the hill in four starts and 21 appearances during 2014. Through two seasons, the junior from Georgetown owned a 4.20 ERA while hitting .194 and tallying 15 RBI in 108 at-bats this season.
The Georgetown High School product and Temple Junior College transfer also became the first player in program history to be selected by the Nationals, who began play in 2005. Dating to the program's first draft class in 1966, Bearkats have been selected by 26 of 30 teams, with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Texas Rangers, Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants being the only exceptions.
“You can't coach talent,” Deggs said of developing players for the next level. “Those guys are already, each in their own right, very talented. You want to continue to hone their skillset. More than anything, it's about working and growing and maturing. All these guys worked extremely hard.”
Yelich, a junior and 2015 Southland Conference Honorable Mention, hit .285, driving in 14 runs while scoring 24 times. The reliable backstop from Westlake Village, Calif., recorded 306 putouts and a .977 fielding percentage in his first season after transferring from Orange Coast College.
Bisacca, a senior from Plano, was the Kats' final selection. The right-hander finished his season with a 2.35 ERA and 7-2 record in 26 relief appearances and two starts. He held opponents to a .206 batting average while striking out 57 in 69 innings.
“I'm real excited for them to get the opportunity to play for a paycheck,” Deggs said. It's a good day for the program and for the Bearkats. It's good to see these guys get rewarded for their hard work. I'm proud of them.”
