UVA’s Morris, Murdock Selected On Day Two Of MLB Draft

Courtesy UVA Sports Media Relations

A pair of Virginia baseball players, sophomore shortstop Tanner Morris and junior right-handed pitcher Noah Murdock, were chosen on the second day of the MLB Draft on Tuesday. Morris was taken in the fifth round (147th overall) by the Toronto Blue Jays, while Murdock was selected in the seventh round (199th overall) by the Kansas City Royals.

A Cavalier has now been selected in the first five rounds in each of the last 10 seasons, and Virginia pitcher has been selected in the first 10 rounds of the MLB draft in each of the last 10 seasons. Multiple Cavaliers have been taken in the first seven rounds of the MLB Draft for six-straight years.

Morris (Crozet, Va.) was the Cavaliers top hitter in 2019 and one of the most consistent bats in the Atlantic Coast Conference. He posted team bests in batting average (.345), hits (77) doubles (21), home runs (5), slugging percentage (.507), walks (41) and on-base percentage (.452). His 21 doubles were tied for the sixth most in a single season in program history.

He followed up ACC All-Freshman Team honors with a Third Team All-ACC selection at shortstop in 2019. Morris elevated his game in league play, batting .370 (47 for 127) with 12 doubles, two home runs and 18 RBI in 30 games.

Morris began the season reaching base safely in his first 15 games. He failed to reach base in only four of Virginia’s 56 games and finished the season on a 16-game reached base streak.

Morris started all 56 games at shortstop for the Cavaliers in 2019 and last year was just the fourth true freshman shortstop in head coach Brian O’Connor’s 16-year tenure at Virginia. He served as the team’s leadoff hitter in 73 games during his career, including 33 of the team’s final 34 games of 2019.

Primarily serving as the team’s Friday night starter, Murdock (Colonial Heights, Va.) struck out 69 batters in 74.1 innings pitched this past season. The junior made a team-high 14 starts including five in which he struck out seven or more batters. All three of his wins on the year came against conference opponents including a career-high, eight-strikeout performance in a victory over then No. 15 North Carolina on April 26.

In his first year on grounds, Murdock earned an ACC All-Freshman Team nod after appearing in 11 games in 2017. He held a consecutive scoreless innings streak of 19.1 innings in outing against Virginia Tech, Notre Dame and Florida State.

Out of high school, Murdock was selected in the 38th round by the Washington Nationals.

With two selections Tuesday, a total of 83 of the program’s 131 MLB Draft selections have come under O’Connor’s tenure.