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Rice Baseball: Rays draft Roel Garcia in 14th Round of MLB Draft

July 20, 2022 By Matthew Bartlett

After completing his sixth season as a collegiate, Rice baseball pitcher Roel Garcia was selected in the 14th Round of the MLB Draft by the Rays.

Rice baseball hurler Roel Garcia served primarily as a reliever during the 2022 season, one of the best statistical campaigns of his career. He posted career-best marks in ERA (4.73), innings (45.2), strike outs (50) and appearances (16).

The strong year, combined with impressive arm talent, was enough to earn him a selection in the 2022 MLB Draft. He came off the board with the 434th overall pick in the 14th Round. He was one of 10 Conference USA players selected during the draft and the only Owl selected.

Garcia is the first Owl drafted since Trei Cruz, selected in the third round by the Tigers in 2020. Although Rice saw no players selected in the 2021 MLB Draft, that proved to be an outlier. The Owls have produced quite a lengthy list of draftees in recent years, even without perennial trips to Omaha.

Rice Baseball MLB Draft selections (last 10 years)

Player Draft Year Round
Roel Garcia 2022 14
Trei Cruz 2020 3
Matt Canterino 2019 2
Evan Kravetz 2019 5
Garrett Gayle 2019 12
Roel Garcia 2019 27
Trei Cruz 2019 37
Addison Moss 2019 37
Ford Proctor 2018 3
Ricky Salinas 2018 25
Cody Staab 2018 30
Glenn Otto 2017 5
Dane Myers 2017 6
Tristan Gray 2017 13
Jon Duplantier 2016 3
Blake Fox 2016 10
Jordan Stephens 2015 5
Leon Byrd 2015 10
Kevin McCanna 2015 13
Austin Orewiler 2015 14
Matt Ditman 2015 16
John Clay Reeves 2015 20
John Williamson 2015 23
Zech Lemond 2014 3
Skyler Ewing 2014 6
Caleb Smith 2014 15
Matt Ditman 2014 15
Shane Hoelscher 2014 17
Chase McDowell 2014 26
Austin Kubitza 2013 4
Michael Ratterree 2013 10
John Simms 2013 11
Christian Stringer 2013 16
Geoff Perrott 2013 17
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Filed Under: Archive, Baseball Tagged With: MLB Draft, Rice baseball, Roel Garcia

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