ASU Baseball: Higgins selected in 35th round, only Sun Devil picked in MLB Draft

One current Sun Devil, left-handed pitcher Connor Higgins, was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 35th round (1,064th overall), and seven players in Arizona State’s recruiting class were picked 2017 MLB Draft.

Higgins, being the lone pick, tied Arizona State’s school-low of players drafted since 1970 when infielder Lenny Randle was the only Sun Devil to be selected as he was picked in the first round by the Washington Senators. Arizona State had a Pac-12 best nine players drafted in 2015 and tied for a fourth-most of five in 2016.

Higgins, a hard-throwing 6-foot-5, 240 pound junior, achieved a 3-2 record (3.92 ERA) in 39 innings pitched and earned a team-high four saves. While he has the option to join the Rangers organization, Higgins could prove a pivotal role either in the starting rotation or in the bullpen as a junior for the Sun Devils.

Of all 44 players drafted from the Pac-12, the most (9) came from Stanford, while Arizona State who finished 23-32 overall and 8-22 in Pac-12 play had the least with one.

Seniors Zach Cerbo and Eder Erives and juniors Ryan Hingst, Eli Lingos, Andrew Snow, Taylor Lane, Jake Godfrey and Grant Schneider were all draft eligible. Former Sun Devils Jackson Willeford, Ryan Lillard and Andrew Shaps who left Arizona State prior to the end of the season were also draft-ready, but not selected.

2017 Recruiting Class

Seven of 14 players in Arizona State’s No. 14 nationally ranked recruiting class by perfectgame.com were drafted.

First 15 rounds

The Milwaukee Brewers selected two Sun Devil commits exactly 300 picks apart. Brendan Murphy, who pitched at Mundelein High School in Illinois — roughly two hours from Miller Park — was picked 114th in the fourth round. Ten rounds later, Gage Workman from Basha High School in Queen Creek, Ariz with the 414th pick.

Jake Holmes, from Pinnacle High School in Phoenix was picked by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 11th round with the 323rd pick.

Last 10 rounds

Shortstop Alika Williams of Rancho Bernardo High School in San Diego was picked 962nd overall in the 32nd round by the New York Yankees.

The 36th round saw right-handed pitcher Boyd Vander Kooi from Skyline High School in Mesa selected 1072nd overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Though the Diamonbacks are a local destination for Vander Kooi, he let every MLB team know he’s committed to attending ASU.

The Kansas City Royals then picked Trevor Hauver from Perry High School Chandler 1110th overall in the 37th round.

The final Sun Devil commit to be drafted was Colorado’s Ralston Valley Senior High School right-handed pitcher Drake Davis in the 38th round and 1136th overall by the Colorado Rockies.