Four Mountaineers Selected in the 2021 MLB Draft
The West Virginia Mountaineer baseball program had four pitchers taken in the 2021 Major League Baseball Draft over the course of three days and 20 rounds that wrapped up Tuesday afternoon. All four players have the option to return for another season.*
Senior Jackson Wolf was first off the board after the San Diego Padres selected the lefty in the fourth round, 190th overall. In his last appearance as a Mountaineer, he threw a complete game to knock off No. 2 Texas in the Big 12 Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
He developed into the Mountaineers ace as a junior, going 3-1 with a 1.05 ERA, striking out 27 in a team-high 25.2 innings of work, allowing just 14 hits and three earned runs in a shortened season. He led the team with 104 strikeouts and carried the team tossing 89.0 innings, finishing the year with a 3.04 ERA. Wolf finishes his Mountaineer career with a 3.62 ERA and 205 career strikeouts.
Junior Ryan Bergert will join Wolf in Sand Diego as the Padres selected Bergert in the sixth round (190th overall). He missed the 2021 baseball season due to offseason surgery. He earned a spot in the weekend starting rotation in 2020, going 2-2 on the year with a 2.92 ERA in the abbreviated season. Bergert showed his big game capabilities as a freshman in the semifinal of the 2019 Big 12 Conference Tournament against nationally ranked Texas Tech. He tossed a scoreless five innings, allowing only one hit, picking up the win as the Mountaineers knocked of Tech 2-0, advancing to the conference championship.
Junior Madison Jeffrey was selected in the 15th round (462nd overall) by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He made 36 appearances (all in relief) during his three-year career with an ERA of 5.79 and 47 strikeouts in 37.1 innings of work.
Jeffrey made nine appearances for the West Virginia Black Bears this summer and holds a 6.30 ERA.
Junior Adam Tulloch was also selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 17th round (522 overall) of the 2021 Major League Baseball Draft.
Tulloch recently joined the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod Baseball League. In three games, including one start, he has tossed 11 scoreless innings and has registered 16 strikeouts, 14 of which have come in the last two outings. The last time Tulloch took the mound, he finished out the final four innings, striking out eight, and picked up his first save on the season.
The junior wrapped up his first season as a Mountaineer with an ERA of 6.27 with 52 strikeouts in 37.1 innings. His first seven appearances on the year were starts before being moved to the bullpen.
The likelihood of all four Mountaineers returning for another season is minimal. Wolf and Bergert will probably move on. As for Jeffrey and Tulloch, they might be better served to stay another year but then again, under the right circumstances, they may opt to develop with the Dodgers.
*A Club generally retains the rights to sign a selected player until 11:59 PM (EDT) August 15, or until the player enters, or returns to, a four-year college on a full-time basis. A player who is drafted and does not sign with the Club that selected him may be drafted again at a future year's Draft, so long as the player is eligible for that year's Draft. A Club may not select a player again in a subsequent year, unless the player has consented to the re-selection.
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