Ten high school-related facts from the MLB Draft

1. IMG Academy sets record
IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) became the first school to ever have six players selected in a single draft. Brennan Malone was the first to go at No. 33, while Rece Hinds was taken at 49, Kendall Williams at 52, Will Bartlett at 280, Pat Romeri at 365 and Josh Rivera at 653. The previous high is believed to be four players selected from one school.

2. Three of a kind
Four other schools had three players chosen. Serra (Gardena, Calif.) had Jordan Brown (pick No. 190), Kelvin Bender (523), Mahki Backstrom (547); Florida Virtual School (Fla.) with Leon Paulino (707), Jefferson Figueroa (973), and Adrian Rodriguez (1,165); Cypress Ranch (Houston) had J.J. Goss (36), Matt Thompson (45), and Jared Alvarez-Lopez (503); and Colleyville Heritage (Colleyville, Texas) with Bobby Witt Jr. (2), Logan Britt (1040), and Mason Greer (1112). A total of 18 other schools had at least two players chosen.

3. Fathers and sons
A total of nine sons of former Major League players were drafted, including teammates Bobby Witt Jr. and Mason Greer at Colleyville Heritage. Their fathers, Bobby Witt Sr. and Rusty Greer, were teammates with the Texas Rangers from 1994 to 1998.

4. Florida comes out on top
A total of 259 high school players were chosen in the draft. Florida had the most high school players chosen with 45, followed by California with 38, Texas with 30, Georgia with 21 and Illinois with 12. Fourteen states did not have any players chosen in the draft.

5. Talented teammates
J.J. Goss and Matt Thompson edged out Brennan Malone and Rece Hinds as the highest pair of teammates drafted. Goss and Thompson were taken 36 and 45 overall (total of 81) while Malone and Hinds were taken 33 and 49 overall (total of 82).

6. Mr. Underrated
MLB.com ranked the top 200 players (from all levels) available in the draft. Grant McCray of Lakewood Ranch (Bradenton, Fla.) was the highest non-ranked high school player chosen, taken at No. 87 overall by the San Francisco Giants. He was taken above such highly ranked high school players like Matt Allan of Seminole (Sanford, Fla.) (ranked 13, taken 89), and Jack Leiter of Delbarton (Morristown, N.J.) (33, 615).



7. Top players by position
The highest high school players chosen at each position included: LHP — Blake Walston, New Hanover (Wilmington, N.C.), pick No. 26; RHP — Quinn Priester, Cary-Grove (Cary, Ill.), 18; C — Ethan Hearn, Mobile Christian (Mobile, Ala.), 192; 1B — Joe Naranjo, Ayala (Chino Hills, Calif.), 101; 2B — Tyler Callihan, Providence School (Jacksonville, Fla.), 85; 3B — Brett Baty, Lake Travis (Austin, Texas), 12; SS — Bobby Witt Jr., Colleyville Heritage (Texas), 2; OF — Riley Greene, Hagerty (Oviedo, Fla.), 6.

8. Fourth generation draft pick
Luke Bell of Seton Catholic (Chandler, Ariz.) becomes the fourth generation of his family to become a member of a Major League franchise. His father Mike Bell played third base at the Major League level, as did his uncle David. His grandfather Buddy was an All-Star third baseman for the Indians and his great grandfather Gus, who played in the outfield for four different teams, mostly with the Cincinnati Reds. Luke Bell was drafted by the Diamondbacks.

9. Blue Jays take a Halladay
Braden Halladay of Calvary Christian (Clearwater, Fla.) was selected in the 32nd round by the Toronto Blue Jays, the same team that drafted his father, the late Roy Halladay, who will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame this summer.

10. Football prospects fall
A pair of highly regarded football prospects who were also ranked as potential first day MLB draft selections ended up being taken late on the third day, indicating that they will likely honor their football commitments. Jerrion Ealy, an outfielder from Jackson Prep (Jackson, Miss.) who is committed to play football at Ole Miss, was taken in the 31st round by the Diamondbacks. Maurice Hampton, a defensive back out of Memphis University (Memphis, Tenn.) committed to LSU, was taken in the 23rd round by the Padres.