Southland Has 12 Players Selected in MLB Draft
Southland Conference
FRISCO, Texas – The Southland Conference had 12 selections in the 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, including two first round picks for the first time in conference history.
This year marks the 11th consecutive year the Southland has produced at least 10 selections. Stephen F. Austin’s Hunter Dozier became the highest-picked player in any Southland sport when he was picked eighth overall by the Kansas City Royals, besting Texas-Arlington’s Michael Choice (10th, 2010) and Louisiana-Monroe’s Ben Sheets (10th, 1999).
Six Southland schools were represented while Central Arkansas paced the conference with three selections. Oral Roberts, Sam Houston State, Lamar and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi each had a pair of players selected while SFA had one.
Dozier, the Southland Player and Hitter of the Year after leading the conference in most offensive categories, is the first player in SFA history to be selected in the first round and the eighth player in Southland history.
Along with Dozier, ORU’s Alex Gonzalez was selected in the first round as the 23rd overall pick by the Texas Rangers. Gonzalez, the Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year, becomes the eighth Golden Eagle in school history to be drafted in the first round and the first since 1987. Teammate Nathan Goro came off the board in the 27th round by the Los Angeles Angels.
Central Arkansas saw three players drafted, including Forrestt Allday, the most valuable player of the 2013 Southland Conference Tournament. The senior was selected in the eighth round by the Boston Red Sox while fellow outfielder Jonathan Davis went in the 13th round to the Toronto Blue Jays. Left-hander Jeff Enloe will take his talents to the West Coast after being selected in the 37th round by the San Diego Padres. UCA won a school-record 42 games this season and advanced to the NCAA Regionals following a Southland tournament title.
Sam Houston State produced two picks, both left-handed pitchers, in the fourth and 14th round. Cody Dickson was scooped up by the Pittsburgh Pirates as the 119th overall pick while teammate Caleb Smith received the call from the New York Yankees as the 434th pick.
Lamar’s Jonathan Dziedzic was selected in the 13th round by the Kansas City Royals. Dziedzic tossed a one-hit shutout in his final game as a Cardinal and becomes the fourth Lamar representative to be drafted by the Royals. Fellow Cardinal, Darian Johnson, was picked up by the Chicago White Sox in the 32nd round. Johnson led the conference in hits and started 111 games in his two years at Lamar.
The Los Angeles Angels selected two players from A&M-Corpus Christi. Right-hander Trevor Foss and his battery mate Eric Weiss were selected in the 22nd and 35th round, respectively. Foss threw three complete games in 2013 while Weiss had 17 multi-hit games on the season.
The Royals and Angels took multiple picks from the Southland while the Rangers, Pirates, Red Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays, White Sox and Padres each selected one.
The signing deadline is July 12.
2013 Southland Conference Draft Picks
| Rd. |
Pick |
Name |
MLB Team |
Pos. |
School |
| 1 |
8 |
Hunter Dozier |
Kansas City Royals |
SS |
Stephen F. Austin |
| 1 |
23 |
Alex Gonzalez |
Texas Rangers |
RHP |
Oral Roberts |
| 4 |
119 |
Cody Dixon |
Pittsburgh Pirates |
LHP |
Sam Houston State |
| 8 |
233 |
Forrestt Allday |
Boston Red Sox |
CF |
Central Arkansas |
| 13 |
384 |
Jonathan Dziedzic |
Kansas City Royals |
LHP |
Lamar |
| 14 |
434 |
Caleb Smith |
New York Yankees |
LHP |
Sam Houston State |
| 15 |
445 |
Jonathan Davis |
Toronto Blue Jays |
OF |
Central Arkansas |
| 22 |
667 |
Trevor Foss |
Los Angeles Angels |
RHP |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
| 27 |
817 |
Nathan Goro |
Los Angeles Angels |
SS |
Oral Roberts |
| 32 |
963 |
Darian Johnson |
Chicago White Sox |
OF |
Lamar |
| 35 |
1057 |
Eric Weiss |
Los Angels Angels |
C |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
| 37 |
1108 |
Jeff Enloe |
San Diego Padres |
LHP |
Central Arkansas |