FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas' final draft holdout said Monday that he will play for the Razorbacks next season.
Trevor Stephan, a right-handed pitcher from Hill Junior College in Texas, opted to not sign with the Boston Red Sox four days before the signing deadline. Stephan was drafted in the 18th round last month.
The Red Sox have yet to sign three of their first five draft picks, including first-rounder Jason Groome.
"They're struggling to sign their first-rounder they have and that kind of drew things out a bit," Stephan said. "They were trying to come with money for me and I didn't know if that would happen or not, so I was just kind of waiting. The longer I waited, the more I wanted to come to Arkansas."
Stephan, who will be draft-eligible again next year, has a power arm with a fastball that touches 95 mph. He also throws a slider and a splitter.
Stephan opted to attend junior college and learn to pitch after playing first base at West High School in Magnolia, Texas. He had a rough freshman season, but as a sophomore went 8-1 with five saves, a 2.88 ERA and 88 strikeouts in 68 2/3 innings .
"I'm pretty raw, to be honest," Stephan said. "I knew I had a good arm, so I knew pitching was going to kind of be my ticket. I went to junior college as a two-way player and eventually became just a pitcher."
Stephan is the highest draft pick who will play for the Razorbacks next season. Three other Arkansas signees -- left-handed pitcher Blake Lillis of Overland Park, Kan.; right-handed pitcher Brenden Heiss of Algonquin, Ill.; and outfielder Jordan McFarland of Waterloo, Ill. - also turned down pro offers.
Lillis was drafted in the 25th round by the Brewers, Heiss in the 31st round by the Cubs and McFarland in the 36th round by the Nationals. Heiss and McFarland were rated among the top 500 prospects by Baseball America, as were two other signees who went undrafted because of concerns that they were not signable.
Arkansas lost three signees to the pros: The Twins signed second-round catcher Ben Rortvedtn and 11th-round right-handed pitcher Tyler Benninghoff. The Phillies signed third-round infielder Cole Stobbe.
The Razorbacks' signing class was ranked fourth nationally by Perfect Game USA before the draft.
Sports on 07/12/2016