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Rice Baseball: Shortened draft a plus for Owls

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Rice baseball only lost one player to the 2020 MLB Draft. Aside from shortstop Trei Cruz, the Owls will return most of their roster next spring.

The Houston Astros selected Shay Whitcomb with the 160th pick of the 2020 MLB Draft, wrapping up a five-round affair in just two days. Rice baseball had only one current player selection, star shortstop Trei Cruz. He was picked by the Detroit Tigers in the third round with the 73rd overall selection.

Undrafted players can still sign with MLB teams, but signing bonuses for such players will be limited to $20,000. It’s expected that the vast majority of them will return to school, which means Rice baseball is unlikely to have any further draft-related losses.

Players like pitcher Roel Garcia and catcher Justin Collins both went undrafted. Garcia was selected in the 27th round last year despite missing the season prior with injuries.

Avoiding additional draft losses would have been less likely had 1,200+ players come off the board as happens in the more traditional years. Hard decisions of whether or not to return to school no longer have to be made. Bradley Gneiting, who briefly entered the Transfer Portal during the offseason, has announced his intention to return. For the most part, Rice should be getting most of their key pieces back.

Podcast: Former Rice Baseball star Anthony Rendon talks extended offseason

And then there’s the addition of Ole Miss transfer Connor Walsh. He didn’t play last year with the Rebels, sitting behind Anthony Servideo who was chosen the subsequent following Cruz in Thursday’s draft. Walsh will slide into Cruz’s vacated spot, giving the Owls a formidable roster despite the presumed departure of their top bat.

It’s a bit early to pen down an exact roster, but with the draft in the rearview mirror, the pieces are coming together.

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MLB Draft: Trei Cruz selected by Detroit Tigers in Third Round

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Former Rice baseball shortstop Trei Cruz has been selected in the 2020 MLB Draft. Like his father and grandfather before him, Trei will play pro ball.

Trei Cruz entered the 2020 MLB Draft with the chance to accomplish the rare feat. Being selected would earn him the distinction of becoming a third-generation Major Leaguer. Now, like his father Jose Cruz Jr. before him and his grandfather Jose Cruz Sr. before him, Trei will be a professional baseball player. The shortened draft did not seem to limit Cruz, who fulfilled expectations, hearing his name called on the second day of the two-day event.

His opportunity will come as a member of the Detroit Tigers’ minor league system after he was selected by the Tigers with the 73rd pick (Round 3) in the 2020 MLB Draft. Trei was previously selected in the 35th Round by the Astros in the 2017 draft and in the 37th Round by the Nationals in the 2019 draft. Like his number in the sequence of family pros, the third time should be the charm.

His father, Cruz Jr., was selected in the first round by the Seattle Mariners in the 1995 amateur draft. He made his debut two years later in 1997.

Listen: Anthony Rendon joins The Roost Podcast to talk delayed season and more

Trei Cruz leaves Rice baseball with a robust collection of stat lines. He slashed .296/.406/.484, improving in all three measures from his freshman season in 2018 to the Owls’ abbreviated 2020 campaign. Trei also holds the distinction of being second all-time in RBI in a single game at Rice. He drove in nine against Rhode Island in 2019. The record, 10, belongs to his father.

Rice baseball will miss Trei Cruz, but won’t be without his bloodline just yet. His brother, Antonio still plays for the Owls. He was a sophomore this past season.

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Rice Football: Owls announce return to campus timeline

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Rice Football has a plan to return to campus and the athletic department has announced its plan to reengage amid COVID-19 concerns.

Rice football, soccer, volleyball and men’s and women’s cross country teams have a plan to return to campus. The Roost has confirmed those athletes will be tested as part of pre-participation COVID-19 screening on Thursday, June 11. Voluntary workouts are scheduled to begin on June 17.

As far as the logistics go, student-athletes will be organized into sport-specific workout groups. Those groups will be assigned times for conditioning work and medical treatments. Everyone entering the facilities will be required to wear a face covering expect for during the scheduled workouts. Sports medicine staff will wear masks as well as all strength and conditioning staff members.

Athletic Director Joe Karlgaard detailed the process in a statement:

“We are excited to welcome our local, fall sport student-athletes back to campus for voluntary workouts. Our staff has worked very thoughtfully on a plan that promotes safety and allows for mitigation in the event of any positive occurrences of the virus. We hope June 17 marks the beginning of our transition to having all of our student-athletes successfully return for fall semester.”

For the time being, the Owls’ first game is still scheduled to kick off on Thursday, September 3 against Houston. As of Tuesday, the Cougars do not plan to test their athletes unless they exhibit symptoms of the virus.

The Roost Podcast: Listen now to our Extended Offseason Interview Series

When addressing that subject earlier in the summer, Karlgaard noted the decision to plan for the upcoming football season was intentional. “We have to proceed as if we’re going to have those seasons because you can’t do the reverse,” he said, citing the immense challenges that would arise should teams seek to organize a game that had been canceled on short notice.

Establishing a return to campus plan had to come first. Rice football has achieved that milestone. The rest will follow in the coming weeks and months. Stay tuned as the situation develops. Further details are available here.

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Rice Baseball: What to expect for the Owls in 2020 MLB Draft

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Rice Baseball should have at least one player selected in the 2020 MLB Draft. Here’s what to expect from the Owls and how to watch the draft this week.

The 2020 MLB Draft is going to be different in more ways than one. First, it’s typically aligned with the end of the college baseball season which came to a screeching halt in mid-March. Second, and most importantly, it’s only five rounds long. Rice baseball had six players selected in the 2019 Draft, but that came over the span of 40 rounds.

How to Watch the 2020 MLB Draft

Round 1

Dates: Wednesday, June 10
Times: 7 p.m. ET
TV: MLB Network / ESPN
Picks: 1-37

Rounds 2-5

Dates:  Thursday, June 11
Times: 5 p.m. ET
TV: MLB Network / ESPN2
Picks: 38-160

What to expect for Rice Baseball

The abridged nature of the draft makes it increasingly likely that few Owls, if any, will hear their names called this week. Standout shortstop Trei Cruz is the only player that most experts believe will be selected. D1 Baseball rated him as the No. 35 college prospect ($) in the draft. Most mock drafts in recent weeks have projected him as a Day 2 selection.

With so few selections, teams will be less inclined to gamble than they would have been in a 40 round draft. Less high school prospects will be taken with more pro-ready college players available. Players with injury concerns, like Rice pitcher Roel Garcia, will see their draft chances lessened from where they might have stood in a traditional year.

Listen: Anthony Rendon joins The Roost Podcast to talk delayed season and more

Players who aren’t drafted are allowed to sign for a reduced bonus. There will be a handful of prospects that opt to go that route, but many will choose to return to college for the upcoming season. That’s going to make the 2021 Draft class impressive.

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Rice Tennis: Culture the tone-setter for Owls’ post-pandemic

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Rice tennis fought through a challenging 2019-2020 season. The lessons learned in the tough campaign will pay off for the Owls in the future.

The injury-filled fall and the abruptly ended spring did no favors to Rice tennis. Despite the hard hand they were dealt last season, Rice is doubling down on its future.

Rice will have four seniors and four juniors on their roster next season, leaving just two underclassmen. Retaining a group of young players that have seen as much of the court as the Owls’ elder statesmen should be a huge step up from the competition for multiple reasons, but none ring truer than culture.

No one knows when the sports world will return back to “normal”. What we do know, however, is those programs starting from “square one” will be dealt an incalculably more challenging task. New coaches and players will be at an inherent disadvantage.

As tough as the 2019-2020 season was for Rice, the fortitude and endurance developed over the course of the hard year are already beginning to pay off. Those who played key roles this season will be better off and will carry what they’ve learned into next season. It took strain, but Rice tennis has developed a resilient culture that will steer them into the future.

The Roost Podcast: Listen now to our Extended Offseason Interview Series

Head coach Efe Ustendag emphatically declared “the team is in good position” entering the fall. the bonds established from strenuous seasons, both on and off the cour, have drawn the team together while apart. Whenever Rice tennis returns, they’ll be given an opportunity to put this past season in the rear view mirror. Several members of this team remember winning the conference tournament as recently as 2017.

Rice will also have the added advantage of not having to force its younger, less-proven players to carry the load by themselves. A healthy roster that’s been through the ringer will pay off in the long run. Whenever the Owls get back on the court, they’ll be ready.

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