Page 44 - DBU Baseball 25 Media Guide

DAN HEEFNER–HEAD COACH
DBU IN THE DRAFT UNDER HEEFNER
Developing players to advance their careers to the professional ranks has become a staple of the DBU Baseball program under Heefner’s guidance. During Heefner’s 17-year career as the head coach at DBU, 73 players have been selected in the Major League Draft, including 27 taken in the top 10 rounds. Dating back to the 2015 MLB Draft, DBU’s 49 draft selections are the ninth- highest total in college baseball. Since Heefner arrived at DBU as an assistant coach in 2005, 89 players have pursued professional baseball careers.
The DBU Baseball program set a school record in 2023 when eight players were selected in the Major League Draft. The Patriots eight draft picks were also tied for the fourth-most selections from any college program in the country. Three pitchers were taken in the top 10 rounds, including Braxton Bragg in the eighth round by the Baltimore Orioles, followed by Kyle Amendt and Zane Russell going to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the ninth and 10th rounds, respectively. The Atlanta Braves nabbed Jace Grady in the 11th round before Bryson Hammer went to the Colorado Rockies, and Brady Rose was taken by the New York in the 12th round. Nate Rombach was an 18th-round selection by the Washington Nationals, and 10 picks later; Alec Baker became the eighth Patriot to go in the draft when the Diamondbacks chose him in the 18th round.
In 2022, three players from DBU were selected in the MLB Draft, led by right- handed pitcher Jacob Meador, whose name was called in the 12th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers. One round later, fellow righty Chandler Arnold was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals. Utility player Ryan Wrobleski rounded out the Patriots’ draft selections when he was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 20th round.
The 2021 MLB Draft saw five Patriots selected, including a pair in the top 10 rounds: Dominic Hamel went to the New York Mets in the third round, and Jackson Glenn was chosen by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the fifth round. DBU’s five draft picks ranked as the sixth-highest total in the nation.
In 2020, DBU was one of only nine programs in the nation with two or more players selected in the first two rounds of the Major League Draft, and Burl Carraway and Jimmy Glowenke were each selected in the second round. Carraway became the third-highest draft pick in school history when the Chicago Cubs selected him with the 51st overall pick, while Glowenke matched Jake Johansen as the program’s fourth-highest pick after going 68th overall to the San Francisco Giants.
Following the 2019 season, six Patriots were taken in the MLB Draft. A pair of senior pitchers were the top two picks from DBU: MD Johnson went to the Miami Marlins in the sixth round, and Jordan Martinson was taken by the New York Mets in the 11th round.
In 2018, seven players were selected from DBU in the draft, a total that ranked as the sixth-most draft picks from one school among the 297 NCAA Division I programs in the nation. Headlining the 2018 draft class for DBU was junior outfielder Jameson Hannah, who became the program’s second-highest draft pick when he went in the second round with the 50th overall pick to the Oakland Athletics. Following Hannah was the 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, Devlin Granberg, who the Boston Red Sox selected in the sixth round.
Rounding out the Patriots’ third pick in the top 10 rounds was senior catcher Matt Duce, a ninth-round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Patriots saw six players drafted in 2017, ranked as the fifth-most selection in college baseball. All six players that were selected in the 2017 MLB Draft were taken in the first 17 rounds, highlighted by Seth Elledge, who the Seattle Mariners picked in the fourth round. The New York Yankees took Dalton Higgins in the seventh round, while the Arizona Diamondbacks selected Camden Duzenack in round nine. The program’s all-time home run leader, Austin Listi, was taken in the 17th round by the Philadelphia Phillies.
In 2016, five players from DBU were selected in the Major League Draft, headlined by junior outfielder David Martinelli, a sixth-round selection of the Philadelphia Phillies. Both Darick Hall and Colin Poche were selected in the 14th rounds, as Hall was taken by the Phillies, and Poche went to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
In 2015, DBU saw seven players selected in the MLB Draft, matching the previous high set in 2006. Drew Smith was the highest draft selection from DBU in 2015, as the Detroit Tigers took the junior right-hand pitcher in the third round. With the selection of Smith in round three, DBU became the only school from the state of Texas and one of only nine programs in the nation to have a player taken in the top three rounds from 2013-2015. Joining Smith on that elite list of players from DBU taken in the first three rounds are Cy Sneed, a third round selection of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2014, and Jake Johansen, who went in the second round to the Washington Nationals in 2013.
In total, DBU saw five junior pitchers taken in the first 12 rounds of the 2015 Major League Draft, including Drew Smith (3rd round - Detroit Tigers), Brandon Koch (4th round - Tampa Bay Rays), Chance Adams (5th round - New York Yankees), Cory Taylor (8th round - San Francisco Giants), and Joseph Shaw (12th round - New York Mets), making it the first time in school history in which five pitchers have been selected from a single draft class.
Also selected in the 2015 draft class were two position players, catcher Daniel Salters, and second baseman Drew Turbin. Salters, who was one of 20 finalists in 2015 for the Johnny Bench Award, given to the nation’s top catcher, went in the 13th round to the Cleveland Indians. It marked the second consecutive year in which Salters’ name had been called in the draft, as he was a 22nd- round selection of the Washington Nationals in 2014. Turbin on the other hand, who was a First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection in 2015 and ranked No. 21 in the nation in on-base percentage, went in the 14th round to the Baltimore Orioles.
In 2013, DBU saw six players selected in the draft, the most from any school in the state of Texas. Three Patriots also made their Major League debuts in 2013, including Brandon Bantz (Seattle Mariners), Vic Black (Pittsburgh Pirates), and Ryan Goins (Toronto Blue Jays). All three players were selected out of DBU in the 2009 Major League Draft.
In 2009, Vic Black became the highest draft pick in school history when the Pittsburgh Pirates selected him in the first round with the 49th overall pick. Black would make his Major League debut just four years later.
44 MEET THE PATRIOTS RETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS