Before arriving on campus together at the University of North Carolina last fall, Jake Schaffner and Owen Hull had not spent their formative years in a traditional baseball hotbed.
Schaffner, who the Red Sox picked No. 20 overall in this month’s draft, grew up playing high school ball in Wisconsin before playing two years at North Dakota State. It wasn’t until this time last year that he played a summer on the Cape Cod Baseball League before transferring to UNC.
Hull, Boston’s second pick at No. 67 overall, originally hailed from Virginia and played his first two years at George Mason, a school best known for its men’s basketball team’s Cinderella run to the 2006 Final Four and less as a baseball power.
The two made the leap together to the power conference level as part of the same transfer class and wound up leading the Tar Heels to the College World Series final.
Now, barely a year later, they’ll look to make another leap together to the professional ranks.
Schaffner and Hull have both signed with the Red Sox and were among a group of five top draft picks who visited Fenway Park on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters the pair expressed excitement about the opportunity to join the Red Sox and gratitude for the chance to continue playing together.
“Unbelievable,” Schaffner said of being drafted by the same organization as Hull. “Owen is one of my best friends, he’s one of the greatest baseball players I’ve ever played with and it’s super amazing to have a buddy like that that can stay with me throughout this whole process and it’s been awesome so far.”
Schaffner and Hull described a wild scene at their respective houses on draft day, first when Schaffner was drafted significantly higher than projected at No. 20 and especially when the Red Sox took Hull as well.
“We were so excited,” Hull said. “Being on the same team with my best friend, my sister hugged me so hard I couldn’t tell if she was excited for me or being able to see Jake’s sisters too.”
Schaffner said as soon as he realized what had happened he immediately hopped on FaceTime to call his once and future teammate.
“I think my family had more of a reaction to him getting drafted than me,” Schaffner said. “So it was pretty cool to see.”
Though neither Schaffner or Hull are from New England, the pair do have some familiarity with the region. Schaffner played for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks in the Cape league the summer before he arrived at UNC, and Hull’s grandmother lives in Maine, so the outfielder has frequently visited and often used to see the Portland Sea Dogs play when he was younger.
“Hopefully I can work my way up there and get to see her more often,” Hull said.
First the two will report to Fort Myers with their fellow draft mates, where they will room together and take the first steps of their professional journey. The two started baseball activities a little more than a week ago, and while at this point they haven’t been told when they’ll be assigned to a full-season minor league affiliate, they’re excited for whatever the future has in store.
“I’m ready to work as hard as I possibly can to get up here,” Schaffner said.