Six Gauchos Selected in the 2022 Major League Baseball Draft
New Batch of UCSB Baseball Players Enter Professional Ranks
Coming off a Big West Championship and a berth to NCAA Regionals this past season, six UCSB baseball players were selected in the 2022 Major League Baseball draft that ran from July 17-19.
Jordan Sprinkle was the first Gaucho selected as the Chicago White Sox pulled the trigger on the slick-fielding shortstop in the fourth round with the 131st overall pick. Sprinkle is the fourth-highest pick of the Andrew Checketts era at UCSB after a standout career that included two All-Conference selections and the 2021 Big West Co-Freshman Field Player of the Year award.
The next UCSB player selected was Nick Vogt, who was drafted in the seventh round by the San Diego Padres with the 210th overall pick. Vogt was the lone Gaucho selected to the Stanford All-Regional team after racking up two homers and four runs batted in during three postseason games.
The final Day Two selection for UCSB was pitcher Cory Lewis, who was selected in the ninth round with pick 164 by the Minnesota Twins. Lewis is coming off a first-team All-Conference nod after compiling a 9-1 record with a 3.57 ERA this past season.
The third and final day of the draft saw three more Gauchos selected, including closer Ryan Harvey, who was selected in the 11th round with pick 340 by the New York Yankees; Blake Klassen, who was selected in the 17th round with pick 501 by the Washington Nationals; and Bryce Willits, who was in the 18th round with pick 551 by the White Sox.
Klassen and Willits were First-Team All-Conference selections in 2022, and Harvey was named Second-Team All-Conference.
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