LOS ANGELES, CA – Dreams came true this week as five Senators, including three from the 2022 team, were drafted in the MLB Draft over the past two days.
On Monday, Ben Joyce was selected in the third round (89th pick) by the Los Angeles Angels while Zebby Matthews was drafted in the eighth round (234th pick) by the Minnesota Twins and Wesley Scott was selected right after by the Kansas City Royals in the eighth round (235th pick).
On Tuesday, the 2022 NJCAA Pitcher of the Year, Kohl Drake, was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 11th round (319th pick). Geo Rivera rounded things out as he was drafted by the Cleveland Guardians in the 19th round (517th pick).
"We are extremely excited for all of those guys for being drafted," Walters State baseball coach Dave Shelton said. "It is so hard to be drafted nowadays, to have three current players drafted as well as two former players, it's a testament to the amount of work those guys put in to achieve such a goal. All of them are very deserving, and we couldn't be more proud of them."
All five players that were drafted were pitchers for the Senators, showing the importance and success that Walters State pitching coach Sean Robinson has had in the development of his pitching staff.
"It also says a lot about the job our pitching coach Sean Robinson did with each of them in aiding in their development, with all five of them being pitchers," Shelton said. "Most pitching coaches can go their whole career without having five pitchers that they have coached drafted by Major League Baseball, and he just had five pitchers drafted in the top 20 rounds of one draft. Not to mention the fact that 19 of his current or former pitchers have been drafted in 9 years here at Walters, which is extremely impressive."
This past season, Scott was the Friday starter for the Senators and went 9-2 in 18 appearances. Scott struck out 118 batters in 75 innings of work and had a 14.16 K/9. Scott's ERA was 3.60 and he threw a complete game and had a save.
Scott's most important start of the season came on June 1 in the NJCAA JUCO World Series. Facing No. 2 Wabash Valley, Scott threw seven innings and allowed three runs on eight hits while striking out seven. Scott led the Senators to an 8-3 win. Walters State would go on to finish third in the JUCO World Series.
For Drake, he comes off a record-breaking season at Walters State. In 17 starts, Drake went 14-0 with a 1.93 ERA. Drake struck out 160 batters, breaking the school record for strikeouts in a season and leading the NJCAA by 22 strikeouts. Drake had a K/9 of 15.43 and threw five complete games. He pitched 93.1 innings and had just 17 walks. Opponents hit just .187 against him.
For his two-year career at Walters State, Drake was 23-3 with a 2.71 ERA. He totaled 267 strikeouts, breaking the school record for career strikeouts by 83 punch outs, and tied the career record for wins in a career.
Drake was tied for first in the country in wins in 2022 but was the only pitcher out of the four with 14 wins that went undefeated. He was seventh in innings pitched. He also ranked 10th in the country in ERA.
Rivera was the third current player drafted as he was selected in the 19th round. Rivera was lights out in his one year at Walters State, going 8-2 with five saves in 20 appearances. Rivera had a 1.70 ERA and struck out 89 batters in 58.1 innings. He had a 13.73 K/9.
Rivera's best start of the season came on Feb. 20 against Rend Lake, tossing a seven-inning no-hitter. Rivera struck out 16 of the 24 batters he faced.
Joyce pitched for the Senators during the COVID shortened 2020 season. He made five starts on the mound and went 3-1 with a 4.79 ERA. Joyce struck out 35 batters in 20.2 innings of work for a 15.24 K/9. He gave up 11 earned runs and 11 hits.
Following his time at Walters State, Joyce attended the University of Tennessee where, after missing a season due to injury, he took the nation by storm with his fastball velocity. Joyce's fastball averaged 101 mph and topped out this season with a 105.5 mph pitch. That pitch made him the hardest thrower in college baseball history.
In 2022 at UT, Joyce struck out 53 batters in 32.1 innings and a 2.23 ERA. He allowed just 18 hits and was a 2022 NCBWA Third Team All-American.
Matthews pitched for Walters State during the 2019 season and was part of a team that finished in third-place at the NJCAA JUCO World Series.
In his lone season for the Senators, Matthews made 19 appearances, 10 starts, and was 8-2 with one save. Matthews had a 2.79 ERA and struck out 54 in 61.1 innings. Matthews allowed just 19 earned runs and threw one complete game.
Matthews moved on to Western Carolina in 2020 and pitched for the Catamounts for three seasons. In 2020, Matthews went 3-1 in the COVID shortened season with a 3.42 ERA. Matthews followed it up with a 6-2 season in 2021 with 60 strikeouts in 61.1 innings. He was named a second-team All-Southern Conference member.
In 2022, Matthews went 4-6 with a 3.67 ERA and struck out 122 batters in 22 appearances.
Rob Harvey
Walters State Community College
Sports Information Director
Cell: (423) 779-8880
Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu
Website: www.ws.edu/athletics