AUSTIN, Texas—Texas Baseball redshirt-junior pitcher Morgan Cooper was selected tonight in the second round, 62nd overall, by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2017 Major League Baseball Draft.
Cooper went 6-3 with a 2.32 ERA on the mound for the Longhorns this season. In 16 games (15 starts), the Jarrell native struck out 110 batters and held opponents to a .204 average over 89.1 innings of work. Following the season, he was named to the All-Big 12 first team and, earlier this month, he earned Collegiate Baseball third-team All-America honors.
The right-hander came to Texas in 2014 and appeared in 29 games, 28 out of the bullpen, helping the Longhorns to the 2014 College World Series. That year, he was named a Perfect Game second-team Freshman All-American. Cooper missed the 2015 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, but in his three seasons at Texas, he compiled a 3.01 ERA and racked up 221 strikeouts in 212.1 innings of work.
Cooper is the Longhorns’ highest pick since Corey Knebel was taken in the Competitive Balance Round A (39th overall) in 2013.
