It’s NCAA Basketball Tournament Time, so, today, I’ve compiled a list of the best baseball player from every team that qualified for this year’s “Big Dance”.
They didn’t necessarily graduate, but they did go there. I’ve tried as hard as I could to make sure that these guys actually played for these schools and didn’t just merely go there during the off-season for studies (although I will mention them), but with this large of a group, I’m sure I might have missed something. Let me know.
So, in the 68-1 seeding order set up by the NCAA:
HOLY CROSS: The most notable baseball person from Holy Cross is Jack McKeon, but the best player from there was probably Jimmy Ryan, a 19th century outfielder who had 2513 career hits and 118 career HRs (an impressive total for somebody in that era).
SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY: This historically black college at one point was the place where Lou Brock truly became a baseball player- before he had never truly pursued it as a possible career. His grades struggling and his financial assistance at risk, he tried out for the school’s baseball team to try and get an athletic scholarship. The rest is history.
FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON: Fairleigh Dickinson doesn’t have the greatest tradition of producing MLB talent, but still has gotten six players to the big leagues. I’d go with Sam Dente, who played 745 games between 1947 and 1955 as an infielder.
FLORIDA GULF COAST UNIVERSITY: Chris Sale is not only the most notable player to come from FGCU, he may well be their most notable alumnus, period.
HAMPTON: Only one professional player for the Hampton Pirates is in the Baseball Reference database: Jody Williams, who had 47 ABs for Pittsburgh’s affiliate in low-A Watertown in 1987.
AUSTIN PEAY: It’s between George Sherrill and A.J. Ellis. George Sherrill has actually made an All-Star Game, so, sure, I’ll go with him.
WEBER STATE: Only one MLB player has come from Weber State: Dave Gray, who had a cup of coffee for the 1964 Red Sox.
UNC-ASHEVILLE: Ty Wigginton, one-time All-Star and veteran of parts of 12 seasons in MLB, is probably the best UNC-Asheville alum.
CSU BAKERSFIELD: No MLB players, but there are some minor leaguers, such as Scott Brattvet (who’s made it as high as AAA in the Reds organization) and Cael Brockmeyer (who has reached AAA for the Cubs and played in the Arizona Fall League).
MIDDLE TENNESSEE: MTSU’s greatest player is likely Bob Tillman, a catcher, who played in 775 games between ’62 and ’70. He started his college career at Middle Tennessee until he transferred to Georgia Tech.
STEPHEN F. AUSTIN: Steven Hill, who had cups of coffee with the Cardinals in 2010 and 2012, is the only Major Leaguer in history who is a Stephen F. Austin alum. Hunter Dozier is probably the biggest prospect from SFA currently in the minors.
FRESNO STATE: Kevin Appier? Dick Ruthven? Jeff Weaver? Bobby Jones? Terry Pendleton? Dan Gladden? A tough choice, but I think I’ll go with Terry Pendleton. He won an MVP!
BUFFALO: Joe Hesketh played parts of eleven years in the Majors, with Montreal, Atlanta and Boston, going 60-47 with a 3.78 ERA in 339 games. According to his Wikipedia page, he once beat Frank Viola and St. John’s during his college career. Runner-ups include Eddie Basinski, Jim Britton, and current professionals like Steve Geltz and Tom Murphy.
GREEN BAY: Green Bay University does not have a varsity baseball team and far as I can tell never has. So…I’m marking them down as an incomplete.
IONA: Four Gaels have reached the Majors. I’d say Jason Motte is probably the best of them.
STONY BROOK: Joe Nathan is the obvious choice, and their home field is named after him.
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII: Right now it’s probably Glenn Braggs, but Kolten Wong may one day get past him.
UNC WILMINGTON: Carl Willis? Yeah, I guess I have to go with Carl Willis, the only player with any sort of career that really sticks out.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE: Vean Gregg had a career pitching parts of 8 seasons between 1911 and 1925, and while he never was able to reproduce his amazing 23-7, 1.80 ERA rookie year and other early seasons, he still ended up with a good 92-63, 2.70 ERA career.
YALE: 30 MLB players in history have come from Yale, including Ron Darling. But by default, it’s Hall of Famer Jim O’Rourke.
LITTLE ROCK: While Brooks Robinson did study at Little Rock for a time, he never played for them. Kevin Kouzmanoff is a big step down from the Human Vacuum Cleaner, but he still had an okay career.
CHATTANOOGA: Only one MLB player in history went to Chattanooga (although I’m not sure if he played for them)- Bill McAllester of the 1913 Browns.
NORTHERN IOWA: 1968 All-Star Duane Josephson is probably the best Northern Iowa alum in MLB history.
TULSA: Steve Rogers is the greatest Tulsa alum in MLB history. No, not Captain America. The Montreal Expos pitcher.
GONZAGA: Jason Bay beats out Mike Redmond, Lenn Sakata, Leon Cadore and Tom Gorman.
WICHITA STATE: Touch ’em all, Joe! Joe Carter is probably the top Shocker in Major League history. Apologies to Eric Wedge, Casey Blake, Ken Berry and Claude Hendrix.
MICHIGAN: It’s Barry Larkin, Charlie Gehringer or George Sisler. Since Gehringer did not actually letter in baseball (although he did play), it’s between Sisler or Larkin… I’ll go with Sisler. Honorable mentions: Steve Howe, Jim Abbott, Ted Simmons, Mike Matheny, J.J. Putz and a bunch of other guys
VANDERBILT: 33 MLB players, including Rip Sewell, Joey Cora, Pedro Alvarez and Sonny Gray… but the best, once it’s all said and done, will probably be David Price.
VCU: 14 MLB players have come from Virginia Commonwealth, the most notable of them Brandon Inge.
SYRACUSE: SU doesn’t have a varsity baseball team anymore, but they used to! The best SU alum is probably Dave Giusti, who pitched parts of 15 seasons and was a All-Star with the 1973 Pirates. Honorable mention: 1950 All-Star pitcher and NL MVP Jim Konstanty.
TEMPLE: Bobby Higginson was with the Tigers from 1995 to 2005 and was a career .272 hitter with by far the most plate appearances for a Temple alum, so I’ll go with him. Apologies to Dick Gernert, John Marzano and Jeff Manto.
PITTSBURGH: I’d pick Dick Hoblitzell over Doc Medich.
UCONN: Remember Charles Nagy? He went to Uconn! I give him the edge over Walt Dropo and Roberto Hernandez.
CINCINNATI: As amazing as it sounds, TWO Hall of Famers have emerged from Cincinnati: Miller Huggins and some guy named Sandy Koufax. Kevin Youkilis also went there, but he’s no Koufax (or Huggins).
BUTLER: Doug Jones, a five-time All-Star with 303 career saves, beats out Pat Neshek and Oral Hildebrand for the title.
PROVIDENCE: Birdie Tebbetts was a four-time All-Star with the Tigers, Red Sox and Indians during the 30s, 40s, and early 50s, and the best alum in the history of Providence. Apologies to John McDonald and Lou Merloni.
- JOSEPH’S: Jamie Moyer. And, contrary to popular belief, he did not go to classes on a horse and buggy.
USC: 128 USC grads have made a MLB roster at one point or another, and four Hall of Famers and two more who have a good case for it if not for other things. I’d go with Tom Seaver, but you can also go with Randy Johnson, Ralph Kiner, Don Sutton, Fred Lynn or Mark McGwire. Other honorable mentions: Bret Boone, Aaron Boone, Barry Zito, Dave Kingman, Bill Buckner, Morgan Esnberg, Bill “Spaceman” Lee, Jeff Cirillo, Lucas Duda and… well, you get the idea.
COLORADO: I’d give Jay Howell a slight edge over John Stearns.
TEXAS TECH: I’d say Josh Bard. Honorable mentions: A.J. Ramos, Keith Ginter, Bill Greif and Dallas Braden.
OREGON STATE: Jacoby Ellsbury will probably get there one day, but right now I’d go with Ken Forsch. Honorable mention to Don Johnson.
IOWA: Cap Anson might count. Maybe. He was kicked out of the school after a single semester, and I have no idea if he actually played for them. If not him, then it’s probably either Jim Sundberg or Mike Boddicker.
DAYTON: The two best Major League players from Dayton are active now: Craig Stammen and Jerry Blevins. Pick one.
WISCONSIN: Hall of Famer Addie Joss might not have played for the Badgers, having moved to semi-pro ball by the time he was there, so instead Harvey Kuenn is the representative from Wisconsin. Honorable mentions to Jim O’Toole and Paul Quantrill.
SETON HALL: Craig Biggio is the obvious pick. Apologies to Mo Vaugh, Matt Morris, John Briggs, Rick Cerone, and Jason Grilli.
ARIZONA: Trevor Hoffman? Kenny Lofton? Mark Melancon? Brian Anderson? Scott Erickson? J.T. Snow? Terry Francona? Let’s go with Trevor Hoffman, he’s the best closer in National League history, after all. Francona definitely has a good case, though.
NOTRE DAME: Cap Anson had a brief stint at Notre Dame way back when, but apparently it was more like a boarding school run by the college and not the college itself. So the best baseball alum from the Fighting Irish is Carl Yastrzemski, who briefly attended Notre Dame on a basketball scholarship! Other notables include Jeff Samardzija (where he was a great wide receiver), Brad Lidge, Ron Reed, Craig Counsell, Ed Reulbach and John Axford.
TEXAS: 118 players in Major League history have been Longhorns. Roger Clemens, however, is the clear pick. Apologies to Burt Hooton, Pinky Huggins, Huston Street, Tex Hughson and many, many others.
BAYLOR: Ted Lyons basically wins this by default due to being in the Hall of Fame, even if his induction is one of the more suspect ones in the Hall’s history. Apologies to David Murphy, Ted Uhlaender, Kelly Shoppach, etc.
MARYLAND: Among the alums from College Park: Moonlight Graham. However, the best Terrapin alum is probably Charlie Keller, who made five All-Star games, although much of his success came during World War II and immediately following, where his competition wasn’t as good as it normally would have been. Apologies to Ron Swoboda, Justin Maxwell, Buck Herzog, Brett Cecil and Eric Milton.
PURDUE: Bill Skowron beats out Bob Friend for the best ballplayer who was a Boilermaker.
INDIANA: Ted Kluszewski beats out Pinky May and Mickey Morandini. However, Mickey Morandini is my favorite name to say from this article.
IOWA STATE: Bob Locker, who pitched between 1965 and 1975 for the White Sox, Seattle Pilots, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics and the Cubs, had a 57-39 record and a 2.75 ERA in 576 games. Or maybe it’s Lance Richbourg, a career .308 hitter in 1920s. Pick one.
KENTUCKY: Brandon Webb was the 2006 Cy Young Winner, a three-time All-Star, a native of Kentucky and he has a good claim as being the best Wildcat in baseball history. Kentucky is generally an also-ran in College Baseball, having the dubious distinction of being the only member of the SEC to never make the College World Series. Other notables: Jason Kipnis, Jim Leyritz, Doug Flynn, Joe Blanton, Twins prospect Alex Meyer and A.J. Reed, who won 2014 Golden Spikes award and is now a member of the Astros organization.
CALIFORNIA: Cal-Berkeley has sent 72 players to the show, and you could probably argue all day as to whether Jeff Kent or Andy Messersmith is the greatest baseball alum. Personally, I’d go with Kent. Jackie Jensen, Tyson Ros, Monte Pearson, Allen Craig and many others are honorable mentions.
DUKE: Dick Groat, eight-time All-Star and 1960 MVP, is the best Blue Devil in MLB history. Honorable mentions to Hal Wagner, Chris Capuano, Quinton McCracken and young-guns Nate Freiman and Marcus Stroman.
TEXAS A&M: I’ll give Davey Johnson a slight edge over Chuck Knoblauch. Apologies to Wally Moon, Michael Wacha and Roy McMillan.
UTAH: Dick Hall pitched for parts of 16 years, primarily with Baltimore and would be the winner, except that he was an off-season study, it was not a place he played baseball. He graduated from Swarthmore. So, I’ll go with Billy Cowan, an outfielder with various teams in the 1960s.
MIAMI (FL): 61 MLB players have come from “The U”. Mike Piazza is, obviously, the biggest choice, but he didn’t actually play baseball for the Hurricanes. Instead, I’ll go with Ryan Braun, beating out Greg Vaughn, Danny Graves, Chris Perez, Charles Johnson, Gaby Sanchez, Pat Burrell, etc. etc.
WEST VIRGINIA: Charlie Hickman outdoes Steve Kline for the Mountaineer’s top ballplaying alumni.
XAVIER: Okay, something must be in the water in Cincinnati, because Xavier, which is ALSO located there, ALSO produced two Hall of Famers: Frank Robinson and Jim Bunning. Well, sort of. Frank Robinson only attended during the off-season when he was with the Reds. So, I’d go with Jim Bunning on this, because Robinson never actually played for them.
VILLANOVA: Mickey Vernon, seven-time All-Star, two-time batting champion and one of the best defensive first basemen of all-time, is an easy choice for Villanova’s top baseball alumnus. Mickey Doolin, Nick Etten and Red Donahue are honorable mentions. Matt Szczur, however, probably wins the Scrabble championship.
OKLAHOMA: 72 Major Leaguers have been Sooners. The best of them was probably Bobby Murcer, but honorable mention to others like Dale Mitchell, Lindy McDaniel, Danny Jackson, Jason Bartlett, Russ Ortiz, Mickey Hatcher and Bobby Witt.
MICHIGAN STATE: Hall of Famer Robin Roberts wins this one by default, beating out Steve Garvey, Mike Marshall, Mark Mulder, Dick Radatz and Kirk Gibson. That’s a pretty impressive roster for a northern school.
OREGON: Although Oregon’s baseball program was only recently revived, its past was able to produce a Hall of Famer in Yankees second baseman Joe Gordon.
VIRGINIA: Eppa Rixey is a Hall of Famer, albeit one of the more suspect members. Still, he’s in the Hall of Fame, so he basically wins this one by default. Apologies to Ryan Zimmerman, Randy Hundley, Hank Foiles, Sean Doolittle, Mark Reynolds and the pitching Javier Lopez.
NORTH CAROLINA: Another school that has sent a bunch of talent to the Majors, in their case 65 alums! A fun fact is that Brian Roberts’ dad, Mike, was a long-time coach of the baseball team there, and Brian was baby-sat by one of Mike’s players – one B.J. Surhoff, who Brian would later play alongside. Brian Roberts himself would only play his freshman and sophomore year at UNC before transferring to South Carolina. Surhoff is likely the top player in history from UNC, although Snuffy Stirnweiss, Walt Weiss, Burgess Whitehead, Ty Wigginton, Kyle Seager, Chris Ianetta, Nate Andrews and one Matt Harvey deserve mention as well.
And finally…
KANSAS: Smoky Joe Wood or Bob Allison? I’m not sure. Allison had a longer and more consistent career, but Wood had a better peak. I’ll go with Wood.
So, there you go. Now, please make sure to check out my normal stuff at Baseball Continuum, and come back next week for links!
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