TUCSON, Ariz. — Arizona Wildcats catcher Matthew Dyer has been selected by the New York Mets in the fourth round (120th overall) of the 2020 Major League Baseball Draft.
Dyer is the second Wildcat to hear his name called in the 2020 Draft, giving Arizona multiple draft selections for the 10th consecutive season. His teammate and fellow catcher, Austin Wells, was selected in the first round by the New York Yankees on Wednesday night.
Matt Dyer – Photo/Arizona Athletics
“Matthew is an intense game competitor and one of the most underrated players in the country,” Arizona head coach Jay Johnson said. “He is as versatile of a player as any team could hope for. The Mets organization will be better for drafting Matthew.”
The Glendale, Arizona native exploded onto the scene with an impressive 2019 sophomore season in which he hit .393 with 46 runs scored, 10 doubles, four triples, four home runs, and 28 RBI. Prior to the year he was named to the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award watch list, and his dominant sophomore performance earned him Pac-12 All-Conference Honorable Mention recognition once the season was wrapped.
Heading into his junior campaign in 2020, Dyer earned a First-Team Preseason All-America selection from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. He started all 15 games of the Wildcats pandemic-shortened season and hit .220 with 12 runs, four doubles, three home runs, and 18 RBI. His 18 RBI were the most on the team and ranked fifth in the Pac-12. When the season ended, Dyer was riding a six-game hit streak in which he had posted a .320 batting average with three home runs and 13 RBI.
Dyer is the 11th Wildcat to be drafted by the Mets all-time, and the first since Tylor Megill was taken by the club in the eighth round of the 2018 draft.
Matthew Dyer Honors & Awards
- 2020 NCBWA First-Team Preseason All-American
- 2019 Pac-12 All-Conference Honorable Mention
- 2019 Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award watch list
With Dyer’s selection, the Wildcats now boast 28 MLB Draft selections under the guidance of coach Johnson, 14 of which have come in the first 10 rounds.
