By Chris Kutz, K-State Athletics Communications
(Photo Courtesy Kansas State Athletics)
K-State’s redshirt sophomore pitcher Nate Griep was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the eighth round (241st overall) of the 2015 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Tuesday.
It marks the second year in a row a Wildcat was drafted by the Brewers as outfielder Mitch Meyer was taken in the seventh round in 2014. Griep is the fifth K-State letterwinner to be selected in the top-10 rounds of the MLB Draft over the last three years and 13th under head coach Brad Hill. Also, the right-hander is the highest drafted Wildcat pitcher since 2011 when Evan Marshall (Arizona Diamondbacks) and James Allen (Cincinnati Reds) were drafted in the fourth and seventh rounds, respectively.
Signee Willie Calhoun joined Griep in the top-10 rounds on Tuesday as the rising junior was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the fourth round (132nd overall). A product of Yavapai College in Arizona, Calhoun led the nation in home runs this season with 31 while also hitting .432 with 85 RBIs.
Griep turned in one of the best seasons by a K-State starting pitcher in the modern era in 2015, going 6-3 with a 2.63 ERA (23er, 78.2ip) and 64 strikeouts in 13 starts. The redshirt sophomore was named All-Big 12 Second Team after he turned in a sub-2.00 ERA in six conference starts, limiting Big 12 foes to a .237 batting average against while posting his 1.96 ERA. Griep’s .218 batting average against in overall contests, fifth-best among Big 12 hurlers, was the lowest by a K-State starting pitcher in the last 16 seasons while his 64 punchouts were the most by a Wildcat since 2012. He had six or more strikeouts in seven of his 13 appearances, including a career-high 8 to bookend his regular season.
Among his team-best six quality starts, Griep threw two complete games, including his second career shutout on May 8 vs. Oklahoma. He is one of four Wildcat pitchers in program history to throw more than one shutout in a career.
In addition to All-Big 12 honors, Griep was named All-Academic Big 12 for the second year in a row.
Griep’s selection also brings the total number of Wildcats who were drafted after not being selected out of high school to 29 under Hill. Since 2004, 46 Wildcats have combined for 52 overall draft selections.
Calhoun, a 2015 Golden Spikes Award Watch List selection, became the highest-drafted K-State signee under Hill when he was selected in the fourth round. The second baseman, who played left field and third base at Yavapai, is coming off an All-American season with the No. 6 Roughriders as he hit a program-record 31 home runs, a mark that stood for 28 years, while also batting .432 (98-for-227) with 23 doubles, 85 RBIs and 38 walks in 63 games. The California native also reached base safely in all but two contests, posting a .520 OBP to go with his .952 slugging percentage.
In addition to being named an NJCAA First Team All-American, Calhoun garnered several other accolades this year, a list that includes ACCAC Player of the Year, First Team All-ACCAC, and the NJCAA Baseball Marucci Elite Hitter Award for the Western District.
Calhoun played his first collegiate season at Arizona in 2014, where he started 43 of the 46 games he played and hit .247 (36-for-146) with 19 RBIs and a .345 OBP. Prior to enrolling at Arizona, Calhoun was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 17th round of the 2013 Draft out of high school.
Calhoun is also the second consecutive K-State signee to lead NJCAA Division I in home runs. Neosho County Community College’s Connor Goedert had 19 roundtrippers last year before he signed with the Houston Astros after they drafted him in the 15th round.
The three-day MLB Draft will conclude on Wednesday with rounds 11-40. The first of 900 selections, which can be followed on www.MLB.com, will take place at 11 am CT/12 pm ET.
