Logan Allen, a junior right fielder from Bryant, became the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith's first player selected in the Major League Baseball Draft during the school's NCAA Division II era when the Tampa Bay Rays took him in the 14th round with the 428th pick Wednesday.
"My phone is blowing up," Allen said in a UAFS news release. "This is a dream come true."
Allen batted .362 this season with 5 home runs, 11 doubles and 23 runs batted in while playing 36 games. He missed 10 games because of an eye injury. He was a first-team All-Heartland Conference selection.
"That's great for him and great for our program," UAFS Coach Todd Holland said in a news release about Allen's selection. "Some people say that D-II players don't get drafted, but this just shows you that if you put in the hard work that it pays off."
Allen, who graduated in May with a bachelor's degree in business and finance, said he will forego his senior season of eligibility and sign with the Rays.
University of Arkansas at Little Rock junior pitchers McKinley Moore and Chandler Fidel were drafted. Moore, a right-hander, was picked in the 14th round (the 410th selection) by the Chicago White Sox. Fidel, a left-hander, went in the 23rd round (700th) to the Cleveland Indians.
Moore was 0-2 with a 8.15 ERA, but impressed scouts with his fastball that at times this season hit 98 miles per hour. He had 23 walks and 22 strikeouts in 172/3 innings this season.
Fidel was 5-4 with a .365 ERA this season. He had 101 strikeouts and 31 walks in 101 innings.
University of Central Arkansas pitcher Cody Davenport, a senior right-hander from Fayetteville, was drafted in the 20th round (589th) by the Kansas City Royals.
Davenport, an All-Southland Conference pick, went 7-4 with a 1.98 ERA this season and 1 save. He had 95 strikeouts in 1042/3 innings. He holds UCA career records with 22 victories, 272 strikeouts and 3651/3 innings.
"He was just a workhorse, an anchor of our program," Bears Coach Allen Gum said in a news release. "All the hard work that he put in paid off for him and he was rewarded in the draft."
Arkansas State University senior first baseman Kyle MacDonald was drafted in the 27th round (825th) by the New York Yankees. In two seasons with ASU he batted .331 with 95 RBI.
Arkansas backup senior catcher Zack Plunkett was a 20th-round pick by the Dodgers (611th). He is batting .265 with 2 home runs and 9 RBI.
Arkansas signees Jason Hodges and Dominic Tamez were drafted. Hodges, an outfielder from Chicago Marist High School, was picked in the 34th round (1,014th) by the Cincinnati Reds. Tamez, a catcher from San Antonio Johnson High School, was a 35th-round pick (1,056th) by the Seattle Mariners.
Chet Allison, an outfielder from Fresno (Calif.) Community College who is an Arkansas commitment, was picked in the 24th round (731st) by the Dodgers.
Sports on 06/06/2019