UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State baseball had three members of the team get selected in the 2021 MLB Draft on Tuesday. Junior third baseman Justin Williams was taken in the 17th round, 508th overall, by the Houston Astros. Senior pitcher Kyle Virbitsky was also selected in the 17th round, going 518th overall to the Oakland A's. Senior pitcher Bailey Dees was drafted in the 18th round, 543rd overall, by the New York Yankees.
Virbitsky and Dees joined Conor Larkin (9th round, 272nd overall, Blue Jays) as Nittany Lion pitchers getting drafted, meaning all three members of the 2021 starting rotation heard their names called.
Penn State had four players drafted, its most since 2007 when it had five selected. This marks the third time in program history that the Nittany Lions had four or more players drafted in a single year. It's only the second time Penn State has had three pitchers drafted in the same season with the other coming in 2007.
The four selections were double the most of any other school in Pennsylvania. Lehigh and Villanova each had two. Penn State's four selections were the second most in the Big Ten, trailing only Indiana (6).
Williams, Virbitsky and Dees became the 74th, 75th and 76th players to be selected out of Penn State. Williams is the fifth third baseman to be selected and the first since Jim Haley (19th round, 2016, Rays). Virbitsky and Dees give Penn State 46 pitchers who have been drafted, including 21 who have been selected among the first 20 rounds.
The three selections on Friday give Head Coach Rob Cooper 11 Nittany Lions drafted in his tenure, including eight pitchers. All eight pitchers have been selected since 2016. Cooper has coached 18 overall draft picks in his career.
Justin Williams, 3B – 17th round, 508th overall, Houston Astros
Williams has played in 95 games as a Nittany Lion, making 86 starts. He has 96 career hits at Penn State including 20 doubles, a triple and 11 homers go to with 49 RBI and 53 runs. As a junior in 2021, Williams finished second on the team with a .302 average and a .472 slugging percentage. He tallied 48 hits with 12 doubles and five homers, while driving in 23 runs and scoring 28. Williams had 14 multi-hit games and five multi-RBI games. Went 7-for-15 in a series against Rutgers (5/14-17), crushing two homers including a grand slam in the series finale. Had five hits, including two bombs, and four RBI in a previous series against the Scarlet Knights (4/2-4). Williams blasted a team-high four homers as a freshman in 2019.
Williams is the fifth Penn State third baseman to be drafted. The Houston Astros have now selected three Penn State players all-time.
Coach Cooper on Williams: "Justin is a hard-working player with good power and arm strength. I believe Justin is just now beginning to realize his offensive potential. We are thrilled for Justin to realize his dream of a professional opportunity."
Kyle Virbitsky, RHP – 17th round, 518th overall, Oakland A's
Virbitsky has made 52 appearances and 19 starts as a Nittany Lion. He has notched nine career wins and 161 strikeouts in 153.2 innings. As a senior in 2021, Virbitsky collected five wins and struck out 88 in 77.2 innings. His 88 strikeouts are tied for 10th in a season at Penn State with Mike Watson (2002) and Sal Biasi (2017) and ranked seventh in the Big Ten in 2021. Virbitsky finished the season with a 12-strikeout performance against Minnesota, covering seven innings, in a win. He threw six shutout innings in a win at Iowa on May 8 and 8.1 scoreless frames at Purdue on April 10. In 2020, Virbitsky went 1-1 and tallied 18 strikeouts in four starts after making 20 appearances in 2019. The Pennsylvania native is a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and was a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar in 2021 after graduating in May with his degree in supply chain management and information systems.
Virbitsky became the 45th Penn State pitcher to be drafted in program history. Virbitsky is the A's second Nittany Lion draftee in franchise history and the first since moving to Oakland in 1968.
Coach Cooper on Virbitsky: "In my entire coaching career, I haven't been around many individuals who love competition as much as Kyle. His progression from his first year to now is a testament to his dedication and work ethic. Congratulations to Kyle on being drafted and getting the opportunity to start his professional career."
Bailey Dees, RHP – 18th round, 543rd overall, New York Yankees
Dees has made 43 career appearances as a Nittany Lion, including 33 starts and two seasons as Penn State's Friday night starter. He's registered eight wins in the blue and white and struck out 176 batters in 175.1 innings. As a senior in 2021, Dees collected four wins and 51 strikeouts in 64 innings. One of his top performances in the 2021 season came against Michigan, where he struck out seven and allowed just two runs over 6.2 innings to lead PSU to a 3-2 victory over the No. 18 Wolverines. Dees also threw six shutout innings in a 1-0 win over Rutgers. He also held Nebraska to one run in a six-inning effort on April 16. In a shortened 2020 season, Dees earned a 1.88 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 28.2 innings. He led a combined no-hitter against Navy (3/6/20). A three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, Dees graduated in May with a degree in management.
Dees was the 46th Penn State pitcher to be selected. He's the fourth player selected by the New York Yankees to have played at Penn State.
Coach Cooper on Dees: "Since the day Bailey arrived in Happy Valley, he has worked extremely hard to improve his craft. I believe he is only beginning to scratch the surface of his talent and we are very excited to see him get an opportunity to sign a professional contract."
Conor Larkin, RHP – 9th round, 272nd overall, Toronto Blue Jays (Monday)
Larkin has made 50 appearances and 23 starts for Penn State. Larkin has recorded nine wins as a Nittany Lion and collected 191 strikeouts in 171 innings. As a senior, Larkin earned three wins and fanned 69 batters in 63.2 innings. The Pennsylvania native struck out seven or more batters in six starts in 2021. Larkin had two impressive starts against Rutgers this past season. He threw six shutout innings and struck out seven on April 3 and allowed one run in 6.2 innings on May 15. Larkin went seven innings, giving up two runs, and striking out six in a win over Michigan State. In 2020, Larkin ranked sixth in the Big Ten, and led the team, with a 1.69 ERA and struck out 28 in 21.1 innings over four starts. He had a career-best 10 strikeouts and allowed one run over 6.2 innings against Fairleigh Dickinson (3/8/20). In 2019, Larkin struck out 10 over six innings against Ohio State. Larkin earned his degree in management in May after being a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree.
Coach Cooper on Larkin: "We are extremely excited for Conor to get the opportunity to chase his professional dream. His competitiveness and work ethic, combined with his strong stuff, will serve him well as he climbs the ladder of professional baseball."
Among incoming Nittany Lions, Lonnie White Jr. was selected 64th overall, in the Competitive Balance B Round, between the second and third rounds, by the Pittsburgh Pirates. White is an outfielder who played his high school ball at Malvern Prep. White is signed with the Penn State football team as a wide receiver.
The Nittany Lions finished the 2021 season with 18 wins, playing against exclusively Big Ten opponents. The wins included a 3-2 victory over No. 18 Michigan on March 26 and a series sweep over Michigan State in which Penn State out-scored the Spartans, 39-13. Penn State scored 10 or more runs in six games, the blue and white's most against Big Ten opponents since 2008 (8) and the most in a season since 2016.
Penn State led the Big Ten in doubles (93) and doubles per game (2.21), ranking 11th in the country in doubles per game. The Nittany Lions sat third in the conference in batting average (.269). Penn State hit 34 home runs, its most since 2012, and had five players with four or more homers.
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