Wake Forest Athletics
Ben Hunter and Evan Ocheltree Selected on Second Day of 2008 MLB Draft
6/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 6, 2008
Thursday: Dykstra Drafted by Padres in First Round of Draft
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest's Ben Hunter and Evan Ocheltree were selected on the second day of the 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Along with Hunter and Ocheltree, Demon Deacon signees Austin Stadler and Daniel Marrs were also drafted on Friday.
Hunter was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 29th round. He was taken with the seventh pick of the round and the 869th selection overall.
Ocheltree was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 44th round. He was taken with the 27th pick of the round and the 1339th selection overall.
Stadler and Marrs, teammates at James Rivers High School in Midlothian, Virginia, were each drafted in the 40th round. Stadler was taken by the San Francisco Giants with the fifth pick of the round and the 1197th selection overall. Marrs was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies with the 24th pick of the round and the 1216th selection overall.
Hunter is a native of Cincinnati, playing his prep ball at Archbishop Moeller High School. Hunter is the second Demon Deacon to be taken by his hometown team in this year's draft. San Diego native Allan Dykstra was selected by the Padres in the first round on Thursday.
Hunter, a righthander pitcher, is the third Deacon to be taken by the Reds since the Draft's inception in 1965. Cincinnati selected catcher Stan Johnson in the 33rd round of the 1978 draft and righthander Kevin Jarvis in the 21st round of 1991 draft. Jarvis went on to have a nine-year Major League career, the first four seasons of which were spent in Cincinnati.
Hunter played three years at Wake Forest after transferring from Furman University prior to the 2006 campaign. He was an All-American closer in 2006, recording an ACC-best 14 saves.
In 2008, Hunter was a weekend starter for the Deacs and entered the season on the Roger Clemens Award watch list. He finished the year 4-6 with a 5.00 ERA. He led the team with 82 strikeouts in 86.1 innings pitched. Hunter won each of his final three regular season starts, posting a 2.78 ERA over that span.
Hunter was named to the 2008 CoSIDA Academic All-District III second team. He was also selected as a 2007-08 ACC Postgraduate Scholar.
For his career, Hunter was 13-14 with a 3.79 ERA and 16 saves. His 231 career strikeouts ranks 10th on Wake Forest's all-time list, while his saves total ranks third all-time.
Ocheltree, a junior outfielder, is the ninth Deacon drafted by the Yankees since 1965 and the first since Justin Keadle (44th round) in 2005. Righthanded pitcher Mike Buddie was taken by the Yankees in the fourth round of the 1999 draft and went on to play for two seasons in the Bronx.
Ocheltree is a three-year starter for Wake Forest. In 2008, he hit .278 with five homers and 30 RBIs in 46 games. The lefthanded hitter led the team with four triples and also scored 25 runs on the year. He had a 10-game hitting streak from March 1-15.
In 150 career games, Ocheltree has hit 18 home runs and driven in 95 RBIs. His 10 career triples rank him fifth all-time at Wake Forest.
Stadler and Marrs are the 31st and 32nd Deacon signess to be drafted since 1989. Stadler is a first baseman and lefthaned pitcher, while Marrs is a righthanded pitcher. Last season, Mark Adzick and David Mailman were each selected after signing with Wake Forest. Adzick chose to become a Deacon, while Mailman signed with the Boston Red Sox.
Including Dykstra, Hunter and Ocheltree, a total of 64 players have been drafted out of Wake Forest since 1965. Since head coach Rick Rembielak arrived on campus four seasons ago, nine Deacons have been drafted out of college including a pair of first-rounders.
Dykstra was drafted by the Padres with the 23rd pick overall on Thursday afternoon. He is the fourth-highest drafted Deacon ever and the fifth to be taken in the first round. San Diego has now taken a Deacon with its top pick in two of the past three drafts (Matt Antonelli, 17th overall in 2006).
