Four Jayhawks selected to the Majors

By Dylan Schoonover

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

For the fourth straight year, more than three Jayhawks were selected in the Major League Baseball draft.

Senior Kyle Murphy and underclassmen Brock Simpson, Zach Ashwood and Erik Morrison all heard their numbers called in the 2007 draft. Within the past two years, the Kansas baseball program has had 11 players drafted — nine of those coming in the top 20 rounds.

From Murphy’s viewpoint, the team’s success on draft day can be attributed to the coaching staff.

“Coach Price and his staff bring in quality players,” Murphy said. “Skill level isn’t all that matters though, the coaching staff knows how to make you far better than when you arrived.”

Coach Ritch Price said he was excited for the players drafted. He said he thought junior pitcher Zach Ashwood — drafted in the 16th round by the Chicago Cubs — and outfielder Brock Simpson — taken in the 46th round by the Cleveland Indians — would forego their final years of eligibility to make the jump to the pros. He said the recent success of the baseball team left him with great optimism for the future.

“We’ve made great progress in the draft,” Price said. “In the past five years at KU more players have been drafted than the previous 25 years before that.”

For a player, being drafted to play for a professional baseball team is not as simple as finding out where they are drafted. Murphy said it was a lengthy process that included talking with all the teams and filling out paperwork for each club that expressed interest prior to draft day. He said he was surprised the Texas Rangers selected him in the 19th round — 590th overall — because they were not one of the teams he had spoken to.

“I didn’t know until a week before the draft they might take me,” Murphy said. “Regardless, this is a dream you think about growing up and I am so excited to have the chance to continue playing.”

Murphy’s jump to the Major League wasn’t a smooth process. During his junior year, he had trouble with hitting. At the beginning of his senior year he started the season last in the batting order. Murphy said it was head coach Rich Price who helped him rebound from the tough start during his junior year.

“Coach Price is unreal,” he said. “I struggled my junior season, but he didn’t give up on me. He helped me get back to where I am now.”

— Edited by Joe Caponio

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