Baseball | June 30, 2016
Austin Peay's success on the diamond over the last decade or so has made Raymond C. Hand Park appointment viewing for professional scout's eager to find the next big thing—the next Shawn Kelley or A.J. Ellis, a mixture of talent, poise and determination.
Four Governors—Ridge Smith, Logan Gray, Garrett Copeland and Jared Carkuff—were selected in the 2016 MLB Amateur Draft, one behind the program record five picked in 2013. It marked the third time since 2007 that at least four Governors were picked in the draft, with at least one player reaching Triple-A from both those drafts and two—Kelley and Matt Reynolds (2007)—achieving their Major League dreams.
Smith was the first Governor selected, by Toronto in the 12th round (372nd overall)—the Cordova, Tenn., native was a 29th-round selection by Cleveland out of high school, but opted to attend Austin Peay in hopes of enhancing his prospects for a higher-round selection. He finished his APSU career with 19 home runs—including a career-high 11 in 2016—with 117 RBI and a .312 career average. He culminated his Austin Peay career with a .444 average during Austin Peay's Ohio Valley Conference Tournament stint.
In the next round, Gray was picked 403rd overall by Kansas City—the same team that made him a 25th-round choice out of high school in 2013. The Royals brass was no doubt impressed by Gray's prodigious power—his 32 career home runs is fifth-most in program history and his .624 slugging mark ranks second. The 2016 OVC Preseason Player of the Year hit .321 during his Governors career and was a two-time All-OVC selection.
Copeland, a Bartlett, Tenn., native, was the 30th-round choice by Baltimore—901st overall for the native of the 901. Copeland started every game of his Austin Peay career, failing to reach base safely just three times as a senior after extending a reach-based safely streak to 40 games—third-longest in program history. An All-OVC Tournament performer, Copeland hit .319 as a junior—a number that jumped to a tournament-best .476 in Jackson. Copeland's 118 walks ranks third in Austin Peay history.
The only Austin Peay hurler picked in the 2016 draft, Carkuff was second-team All-OVC and an All-Tournament performer in 2016. He led all OVC pitchers with 32 appearances and punctuated his career with 6.2 innings in relief in a do-or-die game against Belmont in the OVC Tournament, striking out 11 and sitting Belmont down in order in the 13th inning to secure the win. He finished his career with 87 appearances, third-most in program history, and 196 strikeouts (seventh).
Carkuff and Copeland are in the Gulf Coast League with their respective organizations, while Smith and Gray were assigned to the Appalachian League—Gray with Burlington, Smith with Bluefield.
2015-16 Top 10
No. 10 - Liermann a dynamo for APSU in her freshman campaign
No. 9 - APSU Track battles injury to remain among the OVC's best
No. 8 - Beach volleyball coming to Clarksville
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