NORMAN – Four University of Oklahoma baseball players were selected on the second day of the 2022 Major League Baseball Draft, as catcher Jimmy Crooks, first baseman Blake Robertson, outfielder Tanner Tredaway and pitcher Trevin Michael all heard their names called Monday.
Crooks was selected in the fourth round (127th overall) by the St. Louis Cardinals, Robertson was selected in the fourth round (224th overall) by the Tampa Bay Rays, and Tredaway (290th overall to the Pittsburgh Pirates) and Michael (297th overall to the Detroit Tigers) were picked in the 10th round.
The Sooners had seven players selected in the first 10 rounds of the 2022 MLB Draft, setting a program record. The previous high was six in 2009. Oklahoma’s four selections in the top four rounds in 2022 ties the program benchmark set in the 2020 draft.
A Euless, Texas, product, Crooks batted .305 with 21 doubles, nine home runs, 51 RBIs, 10 steals and 49 runs scored this season. The redshirt sophomore also tallied 43 walks and a .430 OBP and caught 20 of 65 runners stealing. He notched 19 multiple hit games and 12 multiple RBI contests (six games with three or more RBIs). After the end of the regular season, Crooks registered five home runs, six doubles and a team-high 20 RBIs while batting .323 in 16 games. A transfer from McLennan College, Crooks has hit .297 with 19 home runs, 39 doubles, 90 RBIs and 102 runs scored in two seasons at OU.
Robertson, an Edmond, Okla., product was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year in his first season at Oklahoma. He set a program record with 69 walks this season and batted .300 with a team-high 24 doubles, five home runs, 62 runs scored and 52 RBIs while posting a .453 OBP with 12 stolen bases. He notched 17 multiple hit games and 11 multiple RBI contests. The redshirt sophomore registered five hits in a game twice – within six games of each other – and tallied at least three hits six times. His five-hit games were against Texas Tech on April 12 and at Kansas on April 22. Robertson did not play in his first collegiate season at Oklahoma State and transferred to OU from Cowley College.
A Justin, Texas, product, Tredaway notched 105 hits this season, the second-most in a single season in school history, and finished with 217 career hits, which ranks among the top 25 in school history. He became the 44th Sooner to record at least 100 hits (217), 100 RBIs (119) and 100 runs scored (130) in his career. He finished his career with a .332 batting average in 173 games and 164 starts.
During the 2022 season Tredaway led the Sooners with a .370 batting average and tallied 66 RBIs, 18 doubles, nine home runs, 63 runs scored and 24 steals. The redshirt senior who spent four years at OU after transferring from Seminole State College, led the squad with 32 multiple hit games and had 18 multiple RBI contests. After the regular season ended, Tredaway batted .448 (30 for 67) with three homers, five doubles, 15 RBIs and 15 runs in 16 games.
Michael, a Piedmont, Okla., product, led the Sooners with a 2.89 ERA and 10 saves. He notched 95 strikeouts and allowed just 20 walks and a .211 opponent batting average in 71.2 innings across 32 appearances and two starts this season. The graduate transfer from Lamar University appeared in 10 games after the end of the regular season and earned two saves while registering 24 strikeouts over 24.0 innings. Michael made his second start of the season and pitched 6.0 innings in the winner-take-all regional final at Florida, then closed both of OU’s Super Regional victories and pitched at least 2.0 frames in the first three MCWS contests.
A total of 291 Sooners have been selected in the MLB Draft, including 21 first rounders. At least one player has been drafted every year since 1970, and OU has had at least one player picked in the top 10 rounds every year since 2011.
The MLB Draft concludes Tuesday with rounds 11-20, beginning at 1 p.m. CT.
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