Baltimore Orioles select Stillwater's Jackson Holliday No. 1 overall in 2022 MLB Draft
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The Baltimore Orioles selected Stillwater High School's Jackson Holliday with the first overall pick of the 2022 MLB Draft on Sunday, making Holliday the state’s highest pick straight out of high school.
The previous best was set last year when the Detroit Tigers selected Heritage Hall’s right-handed pitcher Jackson Jobe with the third pick. The next bests were Owasso’s Dylan Bundy (2011 Baltimore) and Southeast’s Darrell Porter (1970 Milwaukee), who were both taken No. 4.
The state of Oklahoma produced two of the top seven picks Sunday, as the Chicago Cubs selected OU ace and Norman High School graduate Cade Horton seventh overall. Horton went 5-2 with a 4.86 earned-run average but was sensational on the Sooners' run to the College World Series finals.
Holliday, the son of former MLB All-Star and Oklahoma State assistant coach Matt Holliday, heard his name called at his draft party in Stillwater.
“It is an absolute honor to be the number one pick to join such great players in that position,” Holliday said on MLB Network from his draft party, “and I'm really-really excited.”
After Stillwater baseball coach Jimmy Harris heard Holliday’s name announced at his own draft party full of other high school coaches, all he could think about was the paper Holliday gave him last year that was filled with his goals.
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“It’s just neat to see someone’s handwork pay off and see them do the things,” Harris said. “One of the things that he wanted to do was be drafted in the first round and I think at the moment we were all talking about that, we didn’t think it was going to be like this.”
Holliday, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound senior shortstop set a national single-season record with 89 hits this past season, according to the National Federation of High Schools. Philadelphia Philly and former Carl Albert Titan J.T. Realmuto previously held the record with 88 hits.
Holliday’s performances led Stillwater to a 29-12 record and a Class 6A regional final appearance.
The Oklahoma State signee tallied a .685 batting average with 17 home runs and 79 RBI. A 2021 Perfect Game All-American Game invitee and a 2021 Team USA 18U National Team member, he compiled a .749 on-base percentage and a 2.141 OPS this spring, while also stealing 30 bases without being caught en route to scoring 74 runs.
“For him to do what he did and play the way he did but more importantly carry the way that he did, it’s good for our program,” Harris said, “it’s good for Stillwater.”
Holliday is a 2021 Perfect Game All-American, Baseball America’s National Player of the Year, Oklahoma’s Gatorade Player of the Year, along with The Oklahoman’s Baseball Player of the Year and Male Athlete of the Year.
“It was just something that we kind of worked on and tried to grow steadily,” Holliday said on his improvements from his junior to senior year, “and we just worked out every single day and tried to get stronger to be in this position and and it works. I'm glad that me and my dad put in all that work and I'm glad to be here.”
More:Matt Holliday has lived a charmed baseball life. His oldest son, Jackson, could be next.
It was just the third time the Baltimore Orioles selected first in its franchise’s history and the first time it’s taken a high schooler with the top pick. The Orioles selected right-handed pitcher Ben McDonald out of Louisiana State in 1989 and catcher Adley Rutschman out of Oregon State in 2019.
Matt Holliday was drafted to the Colorado Rockies in the seventh round in 1998.
“I'm just really happy for Jackson,” Matt said. “This has been his dream as long as he's been old enough to have this goal. This has been his goal to be a first-round pick and for him to get a chance to be the number one overall pick is an incredible honor. We're thrilled for him, as our family. I'm really excited for him and excited to watch him embark on this adventure.”
With the No. 2 overall pick, the Arizona Diamondbacks drafted Wesleyan School (Norcross, Ga.) outfielder Druw Jones — the son of former MLB All-Star Andruw Jones.
Rounding out the top five: the Texas Rangers selected former Vanderbilt pitcher Kumar Rocker third overall; the Pittsburgh Pirates took Mays (Ga.) shortstop Termarr Johnson fourth and the Washington Nationals selected IMG Academy (Fla.) outfielder Elijah Green.
More:Stillwater's Jackson Holliday, possible top pick, 'pretty nervous' about MLB Draft
Top MLB Draft picks from Oklahoma
Here's a look at Oklahoman's selected in the top three of the MLB Draft:
2022: No. 1 Jackson Holliday (Stillwater), Baltimore; No. 7 Cade Horton (OU, Norman High), Chicago Cubs
2021: No. 3 Jackson Jobe (Heritage Hall), Detroit
2013: No. 3 Jon Gray (OU/Chandler), Colorado
1996: No. 3 Braden Looper (Wichita State/Mangum), St. Louis
1985: No. 3 Bobby Witt (OU), Texas
1981: No. 1 Mike Moore (ORU/Eakly), Seattle; No. 2 Joe Carter (Wichita State/Millwood), Chicago Cubs
MLB Draft top 10 picks
BAL: Jackson Holliday, SS
ARI: Druw Jones, OF
TEX: Kumar Rocker, P
PIT: Termarr Johnson, SS
WAS: Elijah Green, OF
MIA: Jacob Berry, 3B
CHC: Cade Horton, P
MIN: Brooks Lee, SS
KC: Gavin Cross, OF
COL: Gabriel Hughes, P
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: MLB Draft 2022: Jackson Holliday selected No. 1 by Baltimore Orioles
