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Two Gophers Selected on Day Two of 2021 MLB Draft
7/12/2021 4:33:00 PM | Baseball
Incoming freshman Alec Willis and senior Zach Raabe were drafted
MINNEAPOLIS – Gophers second baseman Zack Raabe was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers with the 237th overall pick in the eighth round of the 2021 MLB Draft on Monday afternoon. The 2021 Second Team All-Big Ten selection was the second Gopher drafted on the day, joining incoming freshman right-hander Alec Willis (Denver, Colo./Regis Jesuit H.S.), who was taken by the St. Louis Cardinals with the 211th pick in the seventh round.
A native of Forest Lake, Minn., Raabe earned his first career All-Big Ten honor for the Gophers in 2021. In 37 games this year, the junior led Minnesota in batting average (.307), runs (18), hits (39), slugging percentage (.520), walks (20) and on-base percentage (.403). Defensively, the second baseman held a .993 field percentage with just one error on the year while leading the 'U' with 86 assists.
A 2020 Collegiate Baseball Second Team All-America pick and a 2021 preseason All-America selection, Raabe was named to this season's USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List – one of just two Big Ten players to make the cut. A business and marketing education major, Raabe is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten pick, earning the accolade every year he has been eligible. He also earned a CoSIDA Academic All-District honors in 2021. Raabe's selection marked the seventh consecutive season that a Gopher was picked in the first 10 rounds of the MLB Draft.
Willis, a 6-foot-5, 225-pound right-handed pitcher out of Denver, Colo., became the highest drafted UofM incoming freshman in program history when the Cardinals picked him in the seventh round. He's the first incoming Minnesota freshman to be drafted since Max Meyer was picked by the Minnesota Twins in the 34th round of the 2017 draft.
The No. 1-ranked player in the state of Colorado, Willis ranked as MLB.com's No. 130 prospect overall among high school and college players entering this week's draft. He came in as Baseball America's No. 142 prospect while garnering the 187th spot in Perfect Game's rankings. After losing out on his entire junior season due to COVID-19 pandemic, he recorded a 0.77 ERA and struck out 54 batters in 29 innings pitched this past spring.
As a sophomore, he led Regis Jesuit to the 5A State Championship title, totaling 18 1/3 innings pitched with a 1.53 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 14 strikeouts. That summer, Willis accumulated another 15 1/3 frames on the mound and registered a 2.25 ERA to go along with a 1.29 WHIP and 18 batters set down on strikes.
A native of Forest Lake, Minn., Raabe earned his first career All-Big Ten honor for the Gophers in 2021. In 37 games this year, the junior led Minnesota in batting average (.307), runs (18), hits (39), slugging percentage (.520), walks (20) and on-base percentage (.403). Defensively, the second baseman held a .993 field percentage with just one error on the year while leading the 'U' with 86 assists.
A 2020 Collegiate Baseball Second Team All-America pick and a 2021 preseason All-America selection, Raabe was named to this season's USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List – one of just two Big Ten players to make the cut. A business and marketing education major, Raabe is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten pick, earning the accolade every year he has been eligible. He also earned a CoSIDA Academic All-District honors in 2021. Raabe's selection marked the seventh consecutive season that a Gopher was picked in the first 10 rounds of the MLB Draft.
Willis, a 6-foot-5, 225-pound right-handed pitcher out of Denver, Colo., became the highest drafted UofM incoming freshman in program history when the Cardinals picked him in the seventh round. He's the first incoming Minnesota freshman to be drafted since Max Meyer was picked by the Minnesota Twins in the 34th round of the 2017 draft.
The No. 1-ranked player in the state of Colorado, Willis ranked as MLB.com's No. 130 prospect overall among high school and college players entering this week's draft. He came in as Baseball America's No. 142 prospect while garnering the 187th spot in Perfect Game's rankings. After losing out on his entire junior season due to COVID-19 pandemic, he recorded a 0.77 ERA and struck out 54 batters in 29 innings pitched this past spring.
As a sophomore, he led Regis Jesuit to the 5A State Championship title, totaling 18 1/3 innings pitched with a 1.53 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 14 strikeouts. That summer, Willis accumulated another 15 1/3 frames on the mound and registered a 2.25 ERA to go along with a 1.29 WHIP and 18 batters set down on strikes.
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