LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech’s success on the baseball diamond resonated with professional scouts Monday as a school-record seven Red Raiders were selected within the top-10 rounds of the Major League Baseball Draft.
The Red Raiders are currently tied with Florida for the most MLB Draft selections entering Tuesday’s final day of the MLB Draft, which features rounds 11-20. Texas Tech’s seven selections easily lead the Big 12 Conference as the trio of Arkansas, Louisville and South Carolina are tied for third with six draft picks followed by Tennessee, UCLA and Vanderbilt with five each.
The Red Raiders snapped the school record for most top-10 picks in a single draft midway through the action as Texas Tech’s previous high was four from the 2018 and 2019 events. It marked the 34th-consecutive year Texas Tech recorded multiple draft picks, which is easily the longest streak in the Big 12.
Cal Conley and Dru Baker were the first Red Raiders off the board in the fourth round as the Atlanta Braves used the 126th pick to select Conley followed by the Tampa Bay Rays five selections later to choose Baker. The Rays utilized another pick later in the day on Mason Montgomery in the sixth round at pick No. 191 overall, marking the first time the franchise has used multiple picks on Red Raiders in its history.
Braxton Fulford preceded Montgomery earlier in the sixth round as the Colorado Rockies selected the Lubbock native at No. 170 overall. A trio of Tech arms completed Texas Tech’s day as Ryan Sublette went No. 222 overall (seventh round) to the Los Angeles Dodgers, while Hunter Dobbins was chosen at No. 226 early in the eighth round by the Box Red Sox and Patrick Monteverde at No. 239 to the Miami Marlins.
Texas Tech has now had at least one Red Raider selected in the top-five rounds in each of the last four drafts under head coach Tim Tadlock. During that span, Texas Tech has had seven Red Raiders picked in the first five rounds as Conley and Baker join a list that includes 2020 draftees Clayton Beeter (CBB – No. 66) and Bryce Bonnin (third round), 2019 first rounder Josh Jung (No. 8 overall) and 2018 picks Grant Little (CBB – No. 74) and Steven Gingery (fourth round).
Coverage of the final day of the MLB Draft will resume at 11 a.m. Tuesday morning on MLB.com.
TEXAS TECH MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Cal Conley, INF – No. 126 / Fourth Round (Atlanta Braves)
Dru Baker, INF – No. 130 / Fourth Round (Tampa Bay Rays)
Braxton Fulford, C – No. 170 / Sixth Round (Colorado Rockies)
Mason Montgomery, LHP – No. 191 / Sixth Round (Tampa Bay Rays)
Ryan Sublette, RHP – No. 222 / Seventh Round (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Hunter Dobbins, RHP – No. 226 / Eighth Round (Boston Red Sox)
Patrick Monteverde, LHP – No. 239 / Eighth Round (Miami Marlins)
TEXAS TECH MLB DRAFT NOTES:
- Texas Tech has now had 58 MLB Draft selections since Tim Tadlock was named the head coach of his alma mater prior to the 2013 season. Of that total, 36 of those selections have been pitchers, including 18 now within the first 10 rounds of the draft.
- This is the second time under Tim Tadlock and the seventh time overall Texas Tech has had multiple Red Raiders selected in the top-five rounds. That list includes the following: Clayton Beeter/Bryce Bonnin (2020); Chad Bettis/Bobby Duran (2010); Roger Kieschnick and Zach Stewart (2008); Tyler Reeves and Dustin Richardson (2006); and Ryan Nye and Eric Newman (2006).
- With his selection, Cal Conley, the 2021 Brooks Wallace Award recipient, becomes the first Red to be chosen by the Braves since Ryan Shetter (ninth round) and Ty Harpenau (16th round) during the 2018 draft. He is the first Red Raider to be selected in the top-five rounds by the Braves since left-handed pitcher Pat McKean was chosen No. 83 overall (fourth round) of the 1971 draft. At pick No. 126 overall, Conley becomes the 20th-highest drafted Red Raider all-time.
- Dru Baker is the first Red Raider to be selected by the Tampa Bay organization since Reid Redman heard his name called in the 23rd round of the 2012 draft. His selection in the fourth round marked the highest ever for a Red Raider by the franchise.
- The Rays had not previously selected multiple Red Raiders in the same draft until picking Baker in the fourth round and Mason Montgomery in the sixth round. This is the second time in a three-year span where two Red Raiders were picked within the top-10 rounds by the same organization after Gabe Holt (seventh round) and Taylor Floyd (10th round) were both chosen by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2019.
- The Colorado Rockies had not previously used a draft pick on a Red Raider since 2013 when the organization chose Jerad McCrummen in the 23rd round. Braxton Fulford is the highest-drafted Red Raider by the Rockies organization since Colorado selected eventual MLB starter Chad Bettis in the second round of the 2010 draft.
- Fulford is the first Red Raider catcher to be selected in the top-10 rounds since Hunter Redman was picked in the eighth round of the 2014 draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Josh Bard remains the highest-drafted catcher in school history after being picked at No. 100 overall by the Colorado Rockies in 1999.
- The Los Angeles Dodgers have now selected a Red Raider pitcher in back-to-back drafts after choosing Clayton Better at No. 66 overall a year ago in the Competitive Balance B Round and then Ryan Sublette in the seventh round of this year’s draft.
- The Boston Red Sox made Hunter Dobbins the first Red Raider to be selected by the organization since Dustin Richardson was picked in the fifth round of the 2006 draft.
- Patrick Monteverde became the first Red Raider to be selected by the Miami Marlins since former All-American and current volunteer assistant coach Eric Gutierrez in the 20th round of the 2016 draft. He joins fellow southpaw Chris Sadberry (sixth round, 2014) as the only top-10 round picks by the Marlins in school history.
- Texas Tech’s final four selections – Montgomery, Sublette, Dobbins and Monteverde – marked the third time since 2015 where at least three Red Raider pitchers were called in the top-10 rounds (had three in both 2015 and 2018 drafts). It marked the most pitchers selected in the top-10 rounds in school history.