ORUalum Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 Bennett Pickar opts for college, not the Braves (excerpt) Bennett Pickar gave it some intense thought, but ultimately he didn't need much time to decide his future. Less than 24 hours after being drafted in the 15th round by the Atlanta Braves in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Wednesday, Pickar has decided to delay his pro career and continue his education. Pickar, a standout catcher who graduated from Eaton last month, confirmed Thursday he will play baseball for Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla. Pickar praised the Braves organization for how it treated him during the entire process, but ultimately the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity Pickar just couldn't pass up was the opportunity to go to college this Fall. “It's smart to go get an education under your belt, so you have something to fall back on,” Pickar said. “I'm way excited (about going to ORU). Now that the draft is over, I'm just going to enjoy the last two months of the summer playing for GoJo's (Legion A/Connie Mack team).” http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20090612/SPORTS/906129991/1011/NONE&parentprofile=1010 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former SID Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 After years and years of getting his teeth kicked in by the draft, this has to be a wonderful day for Rob Walton, and especially Ryan Neill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bballmangc Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 Huge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 Welcome Bennett.... it will be great to watch you play behind the plate. Coach Walton and his staff have to to be pleased that Pickar chose to attend ORU over going to the major leagues. You have to believe that Walton's experience with team USA had some impact on this decision. Coach Walton was certainly very complimentary on this player and his skills. Next season could be very special. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBlue82 Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 If the catcher is the quarterback of a team, then we've got ourselves one heck of a "signal-caller"! This is exceptional news - and sounds like this kid is well grounded. Under the new regulations, is it true that he cannot be drafted again until after his junior year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 If the catcher is the quarterback of a team, then we've got ourselves one heck of a "signal-caller"! This is exceptional news - and sounds like this kid is well grounded. Under the new regulations, is it true that he cannot be drafted again until after his junior year? I believe so - it says as much somewhere in that article. Bennett joins a long line of exceptional catchers that have played for ORU - although by the sounds of it, he may be one of the best. I'm very excited to see him play for ORU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBlue82 Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 Thanks, Doc - I was reading on my Blackberry and couldn't access the full article. Three years with a stud "quarterback" - awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 Thanks, Doc - I was reading on my Blackberry and couldn't access the full article. Three years with a stud "quarterback" - awesome! Here's the quote for you, JB: "Pickar could leave ORU to re-enter the draft and go pro after his junior year if he chooses to. He said he'll look to immediately compete for a starting spot with the Golden Eagles and hopes that with enough work he could eventually develop into a player worthy of being drafted in one of the first 3 rounds of a future draft." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titansoccer8 Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 Looks like Bennett is going to have some stiff competition from Furmanek for the starting role...is that correct? Kind of hard to ignore Seth for the numbers that he put up...at least offensively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 I suspect that Seth will battle for a place in the lineup - but it won't be at catcher. It's not his natural position. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogus Smith Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 I expect Seth to handle the DH duties left behind by Johnny Roberts. He may be called in for some backup duties, but I would expect Bennett's competition will come from Burch and not Furmanek. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bballmangc Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 Furmanek was originally an outfielder I believe... Any idea who the starting pitchers might be since we lost our top 3 in the draft? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 I expect Seth to handle the DH duties left behind by Johnny Roberts. He may be called in for some backup duties, but I would expect Bennett's competition with come from Birch and not Furmanek. Precisely what I was thinking, Bogus. We need Seth in the lineup, but I don't necessarily see him competing for any defensive roles, especially for catcher against someone like Pickar. Seems like he fits perfectly into the DH spot vacated by Roberts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogus Smith Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 I don't think that we will appreciate how big of a "get" this is until next Spring. When was the last time that we were able to retain a 15th round draft pick? Bennett could have gone the JC route and been back in the draft in two years, but I don't think that's his motivation. Playing for Rob is probably the best selling point that we provide to this young man (besides an education). Next season will prove to be a special one indeed. To answer bballmangc, not only do we have Drew Bowen, Jeff Burleson and Jameson Dunn coming back, but we have recruited some excellent pitchers from the JC ranks that will be competing extremely hard for one of the 3 - 4 starting rotation spots. From our existing players, Burleson could prove to be our closer (or Dunn, too for that matter). Let's not forget others that contributed this year, including Spencer Roberts, Chandler Griffen, Bryce Smolen as well as Brett Carroll and Mike Moore's son, Sam. From the recruits coming in to pitch, RJ Davis (closer), Mark Guest (LHP), Sean Johnson and Terrance Marin (starters) look to contribute positively from "the bump" next season. The outfield will be loaded. Not only will the injured players be returning - Justin Mitchell, Chris Elder and Jeremiah Mejia - but PJ Sequeira, Tyler Garewal and Robert Barbosa will be available (assuming everyone returns). On top of that, Rob seems very high on Joey Winiecki to play CF, lead off and be the speed guy. In the infield, we'll have Colby Price, Danny Duffy and Nikko Wong returning, but it seems that we have a plethora of talent coming in with Tyler Saladino (SS), Jared Schlehuber (1B), Brett Sowers (INF) and Alec Smith (INF & RHP) competing for a starting position. With all of this talent coming in (and probably some other bodies that we're not aware of yet), it is going to be a fun season next Spring to watch the boys in Blue and Gold to play at refurbished JLJ. I'm excited to see if Omaha is on our GPS navigation system next season - how 'bout you?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 Walton has re-loaded and it will be a fun team to watch next year. Let's hope the rain outs are minimal so we can actually get to watch them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBlue82 Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 It will be very difficult, if not impossible, to replace the starting pitching corp from this season (obviously, with 3 of the top 350 picks in the draft). However, we saw flashes of brilliance from some of the young arms - and it appears that the other pieces of the puzzle are coming together VERY well. I'm with you, Bogus, a year from now we could be sitting in Rosenblatt Stadium! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUJason Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 After the many difficult losses to the draft last year from incoming players, I am so happy for the coaching staff to be able to hold onto these studs for the next 3 years. When you look at the team that Rob Walton was able to field this year even with those losses, I suspect that very good things will be ahead for next year. Since we were able to manage a 2-seed this year, and we expect to have an improved team (although somewhat unproven in the area of pitching with 3 key starters having to be replaced) our chances to have a 2-seed next year look pretty good. I would love to see us have a good start with a few high profile wins and then break the Top 30 in 1 or more of the polls. Way to go Rob and staff!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogus Smith Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 Assuming that our team is as good as expected next season and the fact that we're perrenial participants to the NCAA Regionals, it would be really nice to be able to secure a host site in conjunction with the renovated JLJ Stadium or ONEOK Field. The fact that they can count on us to be in the Tournament should make us an attractive option in planning the regional sites - even if we have to do it jointly with OSU or OU to guarantee a good crowd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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