It was the Arizona State Sun Devils who were most well-represented of the state universities in last year’s MLB Draft. ASU infielder Spencer Torkelson went first overall to the Detroit Tigers, and the five total Sun Devils being selected in the first four rounds made for a program record.
But in 2021, it’s all about the rival Arizona Wildcats.
Wildcats outfielder Ryan Holgate was the first of three outfielders taken early Monday, the second day of the draft. He was a competitive balance round B pick who landed with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Teammates Branden Boissiere and Donta’ Williams were off the board in the third and fourth rounds, respectively.
And the first Arizona-linked player drafted was Desert Mountain High School infielder Wes Kath, who went 57th overall (second round) to the Chicago White Sox.
Below is a running tally of other Arizona high school and college players taken in the 2021 MLB Draft.
Arizona Wildcats
Competitive balance round B (70th overall) — OF Ryan Holgate, St. Louis Cardinals
Round 3 (82nd overall) — OF Branden Boissiere, Washington Nationals
Round 4 (106th overall) — OF Donta’ Williams, Baltimore Orioles
Round 9 (275th overall) — LHP Gil Luna, Chicago White Sox
Arizona colleges
Round 6 (169th overall) — Central Arizona College INF Dayton Dooney, Kansas City Royals
Round 9 (266th overall) — Central Arizona College RHP Mat Olsen, San Francisco Giants
Arizona high schools
Round 2 (57th overall) — Desert Mountain 3B Wes Kath, Chicago White Sox
Round 3 (92nd overall) — Hamilton LHP Brock Selvidge, New York Yankees