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2016 MLB Draft: USC leads the way with most Pac-12 players selected

by Kevin Danna
Jun 11, 2016

A total of 57 Pac-12 players were selected in the 2016 MLB Draft, with 34 hearing their names called in the final 30 rounds on Saturday.

Arizona

A familiar name was drafted for a familiar position in Seattle, as the Mariners selected Trey Griffey as a center fielder in 24th round. The son of Hall of Famer Ken Griffey, Jr., Trey is a wide receiver for the Wildcats’ football team and hasn’t even played baseball since he was 11. Also getting drafted Saturday out of Arizona was Zach Gibbons (17th round to the Angels), Cody Ramer (19th round, also to the Angels), Kevin Ginkel (22nd, Arizona), Nathan Bannister (28th, Seattle) and Ryan Aquilar (31st, Milwaukee).

Arizona State

Righty Seth Martinez was the first and only Sun Devil selected Sunday, going in the 17th round to the Oakland A’s. The junior was the team’s Friday starter in 2016, posting a 9-4 record with a 2.75 ERA in 111 1-3 innings.

California

Remember the dude who somehow threw a ball threw a falling tube? Well he’s now a part of a professional organization – senior right-handed pitcher Ryan Mason went in the 13th round to the Minnesota Twins and led a duo of Golden Bears who got the phone call Saturday, as Robbie Tenerowicz was selected in the 27th round by the Tampa Bay Rays.

Oregon

Oregon’s Mark Karaviotis was the third Pac-12 player drafted as a shortstop Saturday, taken in the 19th round by the Arizona Diamondbacks, and center fielder Austin Grebeck went two rounds later in the 21st to the Seattle Mariners. They were the only non-pitchers selected out of Oregon in all 40 rounds.

Oregon State

Shortstop Trever Morrison spearheaded a nice day for the Beavs in the draft, going in the 12th round to the Milwaukee Brewers (351st overall). Shortly thereafter, John Pomeroy went in the 13th round to National League Central foe Pittsburgh. Caleb Hamilton was the third and final Beaver selected Saturday and second drafted as a shortstop when the Minnesota Twins made him a part of their organization in the 23rd round.

Stanford

Bit of an intriguing pick in the 33rd round with the Philadelphia Phillies selecting Jack Klein as a pitcher, according to the MLB Draft Tracker on the league’s website. Klein came on strong at the end of the season, but that was a hitter and a center fielder; Klein never pitched on The Farm. He’s a junior, though, and can come back to campus for his final season.

UCLA

Nice day for the Bruins with four guys getting drafted – outfielder Luke Perisco (12th round, Oakland), right fielder Eric Filia (20th round, Seattle), outfielder Kort Peterson (23rd round, Kansas City) and Chris Bono (37th round, San Francisco).

USC

The Trojans had the strongest Saturday of all Pac-12 teams with nine guys getting selected. It started with righty Kyle Davis going in the 14th round to the Mariners and continued with fellow righty Jeff Paschke going in the 22nd round to the Dodgers. In between, the Marlins selected another Trojan right-handed pitcher in Brent Wheatley in the 17th round, the Angels took David Oppenheimer in the 18th round, the Cubs chose southpaw Marc Huberman in the 18th round, the Tigers took Joe Navilhon in the 21st round, Reds took Andrew Wright in the 21st round and the Yanks went with Timothy Robinson in the 21st as well, so three Trojans went in the 21st round. Lastly, Corey Dempster was the last Pac-12 player selected in the 2016 MLB Draft, going in the 37th round to the New York Yankees (1118th overall).

Utah

The lone Ute to be selected in the 2016 MLB Draft went Saturday, as Dalton Carroll was taken in the 21st round by the Atlanta Braves. It just makes what the Utes did this year that much more amazing, as they had the fewest draft picks of any Pac-12 team and still won the conference title. Well done, Kinneberg.

Washington

I hope Troy Rallings isn’t too superstitious, because the Washington right-handed pitcher was the 666th selection of the 2016 MLB Draft (22nd round, Los Angeles Angels). Also, shortstop Chris Baker was the third Pac-12 player in a row taken when he went 504th overall (17th round) to the Padres.

Washington State

Saturday MLB Draft bragging rights in the state of Washington went to Wazzu with three guys selected to the Dawgs’ two. Right-hander Ian Hamilton was the first Pac-12 player selected Saturday and went in the 11th round to the White Sox, while Baltimore selected lefty Layne Bruner in the 18th round and Tampa Bay took second baseman Trek Stemp in the 29th.

Let’s get into a couple of breakdowns now, and we’ll start off by looking at how many draftees each Pac-12 school produced in 2016:

  • USC- 12
  • Arizona- 7
  • Cal- 7
  • UCLA- 5
  • Arizona State- 5
  • Oregon- 5
  • Oregon State- 5
  • Stanford- 4
  • Washington- 3
  • Washington State- 3
  • Utah- 1

Lastly, here is where Pac-12 players in the 2016 MLB Draft are going (if they decide to go, that is):

  • Arizona Diamondbacks- 2
  • Atlanta Braves- 2
  • Baltimore Orioles- 1
  • Boston Red Sox- 2
  • Chicago Cubs- 1
  • Chicago White Sox- 2
  • Cincinnati Reds- 1
  • Cleveland Indians- 1
  • Colorado Rockies- 1
  • Detroit Tigers- 1
  • Kansas City Royals- 2
  • Los Angeles Angels- 4
  • Los Angeles Dodgers- 1
  • Miami Marlins- 2
  • Milwaukee Brewers- 2
  • Minnesota Twins- 4
  • New York Mets- 2
  • New York Yankees- 3
  • Oakland A’s- 3
  • Philadelphia Phillies- 3
  • Pittsburgh Pirates- 1
  • San Diego Padres- 2
  • San Francisco Giants- 2
  • Seattle Mariners- 6
  • St. Louis Cardinals- 2
  • Tampa Bay Rays- 3
  • Texas Rangers- 1

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