FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Five Razorbacks heard their names called on the second day of the 2022 MLB Draft.
Infielder Jalen Battles (fifth round, No. 164 overall – Tampa Bay Rays), pitcher Evan Taylor (ninth round, No. 262 overall – Miami Marlins), pitcher Connor Noland (ninth round, No. 263 overall – Chicago Cubs), catcher Michael Turner (ninth round, No. 281 overall – Chicago White Sox) and pitcher Zebulon Vermillion (10th round, No. 299 overall – New York Mets) were taken on Monday, raising Arkansas’ total selections to eight through the first 10 rounds of this year’s draft.
Arkansas’ eight draft picks through the first 10 rounds are a new program record and currently rank second most among all college programs in the country. Fellow SEC member Tennessee (9) boasts the most selections in this year’s draft, while Oklahoma State (7) and future SEC foe Oklahoma (7) are tied for the third-most picks.
With Battles’ fifth-round selection on Monday, Arkansas’ four draft picks through the first five rounds became the program’s most over the first five rounds since 2010, when infielder Zack Cox (first round, No. 25 overall – St. Louis Cardinals), outfielder Brett Eibner (second round, No. 54 overall – Kansas City Royals), pitcher Drew Smyly (second round, No. 68 overall – Detroit Tigers) and infielder Andy Wilkins (fifth round, No. 158 overall – Chicago [AL]) were selected.
Battles joined fellow top-five rounders infielder Cayden Wallace (second round, No. 49 overall – Kansas City), pitcher Peyton Pallette (second round, No. 62 overall – Chicago [AL]) and infielder Robert Moore (CB-B, No. 72 overall – Milwaukee Brewers), who were all taken yesterday on day one of the draft.
Arkansas has also now had four pitchers taken in the first 10 rounds of the MLB Draft in back-to-back years for the first time in program history. Kevin Kopps (third round, No. 99 overall – San Diego Padres), Ryan Costeiu (seventh round, No. 201 overall – Los Angeles Angels), Patrick Wicklander (eighth round, No. 251 overall – Tampa Bay) and Lael Lockhart (ninth round, No. 282 overall – Los Angeles Dodgers) each went in the first 10 rounds during the 2021 draft.
Two Razorback signees – pitcher Cole Phillips (second round, No. 57 overall – Atlanta Braves) and infielder Jordan Sprinkle – have been selected so far. Sprinkle, who spent the first three seasons of his collegiate career at UC Santa Barbara before entering the transfer portal and committing to Arkansas earlier this summer, was picked up by Chicago (AL) in the fourth round with the No. 131 overall pick on Monday afternoon.
The MLB Draft concludes with rounds 11-20 tomorrow, once again starting at 1 p.m. CT.
