Wells becomes the 12th first-round selection in program history
(Tucson, AZ) Arizona Wildcats catcher Austin Wells was selected by the New York Yankees with the 28th overall pick in the first round of the 2020 Major League Baseball Draft on Wednesday night.
With the selection, Wells became 12th first-round pick in program history and the first since Kevin Newman was selected 19th overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2015.
Across two seasons in Tucson, Wells built a sparkling resume on the diamond. The two-time postseason All-American and 2019 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year posted a career batting average of .357 with the Wildcats while tacking on 85 runs scored, 21 doubles, seven triples, seven home runs, and 74 RBI.
“Austin is a special player, has all the tools to be an impact Major League player, and has an intense desire to help his team win,” Arizona Baseball head coach Jay Johnson said. “His ability is matched with an elite work ethic and capability to prepare that rivals any player in the country.”
In his first collegiate season in 2019, Wells put together one of the greatest freshman campaigns in Arizona Baseball history. Across 56 games he hit .353 with 73 runs scored, 60 RBI, a .552 slugging percentage and more walks (46) than strikeouts (46) to lead to a .462 on-base percentage. For his efforts, Wells was selected as a consensus Freshman All-American, the first Pac-12 Freshman of the Year in program history, and Pac-12 All-Conference Honorable Mention.
Wells continued his dominance of the collegiate game as a sophomore in 2020, hitting .375 with 12 runs scored and 14 RBI in 15 games before the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, Wells’ performance was strong enough to earn him Second-Team All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball. Over the course of the shortened season he was also tabbed to the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award watch list and earned Pac-12 Player of the Week honors on Feb. 18.
Sandwiched between his two seasons at Arizona, Wells took the prestigious Cape Cod League by storm in the summer of 2019. With the Y-D Red Sox, he hit .308 and won the circuit’s Outstanding Pro Prospect Award.
Austin Wells Awards & Honors:
- 2020 Pac-12 Spring Academic Honor Roll
- 2020 Collegiate Baseball Second-Team All-American
- 2020 Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award watch list
- 2020 Pac-12 Player of the Week (2/18)
- 2020 NCBWA Third-Team Preseason All-American
- 2020 Baseball America Second-Team Preseason All-American
- 2020 D1Baseball Second-Team Preseason All-American
- 2020 Perfect Game Second-Team Preseason All-American
- 2020 Collegiate Baseball Second-Team Preseason All-American
- 2019 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year
- 2019 Pac-12 All-Conference Honorable Mention
- 2019 D1Baseball First-Team Freshmen All-American
- 2019 Baseball America First-Team Freshmen All-American
- 2019 Collegiate Baseball Freshmen All-American
- 2019 NCBWA First-Team Freshman All-American
- 2019 Perfect Game/Rawlings Freshmen All-American
- 2019 Cape Cod League All-Star (starter)
- 2019 Cape Cod League Outstanding Pro Prospect
- 2019 Arizona Summer Player of the Year
The Wildcats have now had 27 players selected in the MLB Draft under coach Johnson. Arizona has boasted at least one MLB Draft selection in 23 consecutive years, dating back to 1998.
The 2020 MLB Draft concludes with rounds 2-5 on Thursday night at 2:00 p.m. MST. Television coverage can be found on MLB Network and ESPN2.
Press Release courtesy of Arizona Communication Services – Brett Gleason
