3 ORU baseball players get drafted

TULSA — Three Oral Roberts University baseball players were drafted during Day 2 of the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft on Monday.

ORU center fielder Jonah Cox was drafted by the Oakland Athletics as the 166th pick in the sixth round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. He was followed by Oral Roberts closer Cade Denton being drafted by the Colorado Rockies as the 172nd pick in the sixth round and left-handed pitcher Jacob Widener being drafted by the Kansas City Royals as the 259th pick in the ninth round.

The trio become the 46th, 47th and 48th Golden Eagle taken in the first 10 rounds of the MLB Draft and the 141st, 142nd and 143rd draft picks in program history. In his lone season with the Golden Eagles, Cox was named a consensus first team All-American after leading the nation in hits with 114, which also set a new program and Summit League record. The 2023 Summit League Player and Newcomer of the Year, who registered a hit in 64 of the 66 games, led the Golden Eagles with a .412 average to go along with 11 homers, 16 doubles, eight triples, 68 runs batted in and 28 stolen bases. Cox also compiled a 47-game hit streak during the season, which ranks as the third longest in NCAA history. Cox is the eighth Golden Eagle to be drafted by the A’s and the first since Xavier Altamirano in 2015. Denton, a consensus first team All American, logged a 1.83 earned-run average and a nation-best 15 saves in a program-record 35 appearances during his junior campaign with ORU. The Rowlett, Texas, native’s 15 saves also tied the program record. The 2023 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year and the Summit League Pitcher of the Year registered a 2-1 record, struck out 86 batters and held opponents to a .211 batting average. The right-hander totaled 26 scoreless appearances in 2023 and capped off the year with six strikeouts in four shutout frames against Texas Christian University at the College World Series. In his three seasons with the Golden Eagles, Denton has compiled an 8-2 record to go along with a 1.86 ERA, which ranks third all-time in program history, and 170 strikeouts. In 75 appearances, which ranks seventh alltime in program history, the junior held opponents to a .211 batting average.

Denton is the seventh Golden Eagle to be drafted by the Rockies and the first since Miguel Ausua in 2018.

In his second season with the Golden Eagles, Widener registered a 2.90 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 49.2 innings of work. In 30 appearances, Widener logged a 2-2 record and one save while holding opponents to a .182 batting average.

Widener is the second Golden Eagle to be drafted by the Royals and the first since Kyle Irvin in 1988.