FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/FOX24) — The Major League Baseball draft has come and gone, and it saw two future Razorbacks get selected, one of whom came out of Fayetteville High School.

Landon Schaefer was selected in the 20th round by the Philadelphia Phillies this past week, but chose to play for the Razorbacks instead. The six-foot-three shortstop has been committed to play at the University of Arkansas since he was in ninth grade.

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Schaefer said he has always had aspirations to play in the MLB, and it was an honor just to get selected.

“Growing up as a kid, my goal was to play Major League Baseball, and whether to start my professional career early or come here and develop here [in Arkansas] and do it. I had the best of both worlds, so it was a win-win scenario for me,” Schaefer said.

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Throughout the draft process, Schaefer knew there was a possibility he might be selected. However, he always knew he would play at Baum-Walker Stadium in front of the Razorback faithful.

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“It felt accomplishing for sure. I made the decision to come here, and I’m full go. This is plan ‘A.’ This is not a backup plan,” Schaefer said. “I’m going to hit the ground running. I can’t be more excited to play here in the spring and play in front of all the fans.”

Despite being committed to collegiate baseball at such a young age, and getting drafted out of high school. Schaefer said baseball wasn’t always his main sport and credits his father for helping him fall in love with the sport.

“I grew up playing all three sports. Baseball, basketball, football. You know, I had a strong passion for football, and I considered that. But, you know, I knew baseball was special to me because I did it almost every night with my dad. So, I kind of just fell in love with it,” Schaefer said.

Schaefer was the top-ranked high school signee in this year’s class for the Razorbacks. There was concern that he might not live out his commitment considering he was a consensus top 150 prospect.

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Despite the status, Schaefer said he can’t wait to get his college career underway.

“I’m just staying where my feet are. My goal as a freshman is to contribute how I can and help the team as much as I can and try to go back to Omaha and bring a national championship back for Coach [Dave] Van Horn,” Schaefer said.

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