Capping off a season full of historic achievements, the Seattle University baseball program enjoyed another memorable day Wednesday, as senior Brian Olson (Black Diamond, Wash.) and juniors Landon Cray (Chimacum, Wash.) and Will Dennis (Saratoga, Calif.) were selected in the 2015 Major League Baseball Entry Draft.
Cray became the first Seattle U player to be drafted since the school reinstated baseball as a varsity sport, as he was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 18th round with the 538th overall pick in the draft. The last person to be selected in the MLB Draft while playing for Seattle U was Barry Sayler, who was taken by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 26th round of the 1980 MLB Draft.
Dennis was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 23rd round with the 703rd overall pick, followed by Olson in the 34th round by the Minnesota Twins with the 1,010th overall selection. In the 50-year history of the Major League Baseball Draft, this is the first time ever that more than one current player representing Seattle University has been selected in the same draft.
"I cannot even put into words how proud I am of our three players who were taken in the MLB Draft today,” Seattle U head baseball coach Donny Harrel said. “All three of them are system guys who started their careers here as freshman and have worked themselves into being some of the best baseball players in the world. I can’t thank all of these guys enough for the work and dedication they have put into our program both on and off the field. We know Bo will sign as a senior but will have to wait and see what Cray and Dennis do, but regardless - it is a great day for our program!"
Cray led Seattle U in batting average in each of the past three seasons, batting .313 during his freshman year before improving to a .350 batting average as a sophomore, when he earned First Team All-WAC honors. This past season, Cray batted .324 with 59 hits, including 10 doubles, three triples, and four home runs, plus he scored 40 runs and drove in 30 runs. Entering the Division I College World Series, Cray is 15th on the toughest to strikeout list, striking out just once every 16.5 plate appearances.
“Landon has had an amazing career by leading our team in hitting all three years that he has been here and became one of the toughest outs in the country this season,” Harrel said.
Dennis started his Seattle U career as the setup man out of the bullpen, posting a 2-0 record with a 2.78 earned run average and one save in 2013. After starting the 2014 season as the team’s closer, Dennis was moved into the starting rotation, leading the Redhawks with six victories and a 3.25 earned run average. This past season, Dennis remained in the weekend rotation, posting a 6-4 record with a 3.08 earned run average and 70 strikeouts in 96 1/3 innings of work.
“Will was signed as a project-type guy and worked his way into being our Friday night starter, becoming one of the toughest arms to face in the WAC,” continued Harrel.
Olson started 205 games for the Redhawks over the past four seasons, collecting 212 career hits, including 40 doubles, three triples, and nine home runs. The two-time First Team All-WAC honoree led the team with 38 walks this past season, 77th in Division I and helping Seattle U finish at the top of the conference and 45th in the country in walks. Olson also threw out over 30 percent of would-be base stealers over the past four seasons.
“Bo was simply Bo. He was a two-time MVP here as a Redhawk and was our mainstay behind home plate. Bo came to SU with Major League Baseball interested in him out of high school, and also had some teams turn him in last year, but he did not get drafted, so this year the icing was put on the cake as he will finally get the opportunity that he has worked so hard for,” added Harrel.
The Seattle University baseball team won 31 games during the 2015 season, the most in a single season in program history, finished second in the Western Athletic Conference regular season standings, and advanced to the championship game of the WAC Tournament.