The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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16 THE WOLVERINE AUGUST 2017 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS BY RYAN TICE No college produced more draft picks in professional football or baseball than Michigan in 2017 — the Wolverines set program records with 11 players se- lected to move on to the next level in both. Although seven of the baseball draft- ees were juniors, all 11 are joining the professional ranks. In addition, a pair of baseball recruits (not counted among the 11) decided to bypass their oppor- tunity in Ann Arbor. Four other incom- ing rookies were drafted but will suit up in the Maize and Blue next year — led by 33rd-round pick Joe Donovan, a catcher out of Illinois who was selected by the defending World Champion Chi- cago Cubs. That isn't all the Wolverines are send- ing on to the pros — forward D.J. Wilson was a first-round pick in the NBA Draft and a pair of players (one a recruit) were taken in the NHL event. That made Michigan the only school in the country with a draftee in each of the four major professional team sports. Eighteen schools had picks in the foot- ball, baseball and basketball drafts, but most were missing the hockey com- ponent. Still, the Wolverines' 23 com- bined selections in those three events dwarfed their next-best competition, which was Clemson with 16. The Wolverines also sent a pair of softball players to the National Pro Fastpitch League (NPF) via the draft, and boasted one selection in each of the Major League Lacrosse and Major League Soccer drafts. Overall, if the recruits who will and will not play at U-M are counted, the Wol- verines boasted 34 draft picks in 2017, including six first-round selections. Defensive end Taco Charlton was one of two first-round picks from the football team, which produced a school-record and national-best 11 draftees in 2017. PHOTO BY JEREMIAH JHASS/COURTESY DALLAS COWBOYS 2017 MICHIGAN DRAFTEES League Pos. Name Round Overall Pick Team MLB RHP Cody Bolton* 6 178 Pittsburgh Pirates MLB LHP Oliver Jaskie 6 183 Seattle Mariners MLB C/IF Drew Lugbauer 11 320 Atlanta Braves MLB RHP Ryan Nutof 16 467 Cincinnati Reds MLB 1B Jason Pineda* 17 498 San Diego Padres MLB C Harrison Wenson 24 715 Los Angeles Angels MLB RHP Bryan Pall 25 753 Seattle Mariners MLB IF Jake Bivens 27 815 Detroit Tigers MLB OF Johnny Slater 28 843 Seattle Mariners MLB LHP Michael Hendrickson 28 852 Cleveland Indians MLB LHP Grant Reuss 29 875 Detroit Tigers MLB RHP Mac Lozer 33 997 New York Mets MLB C Joe Donovan^ 33 1,005 Chicago Cubs MLB RHP Jeff Criswell^ 35 1,055 Detroit Tigers MLB SS Michael Brdar 36 1,084 St. Louis Cardinals MLB OF Jesse Franklin^ 37 1,113 Seattle Mariners MLB LHP Angelo Smith^ 40 1,197 Chicago White Sox MLL MF Mikie Schlosser 6 54 Denver Outlaws MLS D Lars Eckenrode 4 83 Toronto FC NBA F D.J. Wilson 1 17 Milwaukee Bucks NFL S Jabrill Peppers 1 25 Cleveland Browns NFL DE Taco Charlton 1 28 Dallas Cowboys NFL DE Chris Wormley 3 74 Baltimore Ravens NFL CB Jourdan Lewis 3 92 Dallas Cowboys NFL S Delano Hill 3 95 Seattle Seahawks NFL WR Amara Darboh 3 106 Seattle Seahawks NFL LB Ben Gedeon 4 120 Minnesota Vikings NFL DT Ryan Glasgow 4 138 Cincinnati Bengals NFL WR Jehu Chesson 4 139 Kansas City Chiefs NFL TE Jake Butt 5 145 Denver Broncos NFL CB Jeremy Clark 6 197 New York Jets NPF RHP Megan Betsa 1 7 Akron Racers NPF OF Kelly Christner 1 20 USSSA Pride NHL C Josh Norris^ 1 19 San Jose Sharks NHL D Luke Martin 2 52 Carolina Hurricanes * Recruit who will not play at Michigan ^ Recruit who will play at least next year at Michigan Michigan Dominates 2017 Professional Drafts First-round National Pro Fastpitch pick Megan Betsa ranks among U-M's top five in nearly every pitching category, including third in wins (102) and strikeouts (1,201). PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP