MURRAY — With Murray State baseball’s historic run to the College World Series, a question that probably began crossing Racer Nation’s collective mind probably had to do with trying to predict the number of players from the team that would go to the professional ranks.
On Monday, starting catcher Will Vierling became the first player to be swept into the pro net as he was taken in the 11th round of the 2025 Major League Draft by current National League Eastern Division leader Philadelphia.
Early Wednesday evening came word from Baseball America that two more players from the greatest team in Racers history (44-17) had inked free-agent contracts with other majors ballclubs.
One of those was a player who came to be known on a nationwide basis for his talent at leading off games with a bang, starting center fielder Jonathan Hogart, the nation’s leader in leadoff bombs this past season with eight and the team leader in homers with 22, tying the Murray State single-season record.
The other was one of two pitchers who found ways to accumulate valuable innings by remaining in games, even though their gas tank was close to empty — right-handed starter Isaac Silva. He and bookend righty Nic Schutte constantly managed to extend starts, providing valuable rest to their bullpen mates.
Baseball America reported that Hogart had signed a free-agent deal with the same team that drafted Vierling on Monday — the Phillies. This is also the same team that used its first-round pick on Sunday to select Arkansas pitcher Gage Wood, the fireballing Razorback righty who recorded only the third no-hitter in CWS history and did so at the Racers’ expense in Omaha.
Like his teammates that hot and sunny Monday afternoon at Charles Schwab Field, Hogart did have a tough day at the plate against Wood. However, that does not, in any way, tarnish the superb final season he had for the Racers.
Hogart finished the season with a .338 batting average (one of five Racers to end above .300), 88 hits (second on the team), a team-leading 26 doubles and a slugging percentage of .700 (easily tops on the team,). His on-base percentage was a strong .446 and his 65 RBIs was second only to left fielder Dan Tauken (77). He also showed his willingness to take a base the hard way, being hit by 13 pitches, second on the team to second baseman Dom Decker, who transferred to Southeastern Conference power and 2022 CWS champion Mississippi.
Undoubtedly, Hogart was at his best at end of the season, starting with his leadoff bomb in what became the only game of the final weekend series of the regular season against Missouri Valley Conference power Missouri State in Murray. That homer started an onslaught that resulted in the Racers’ 16-5 run-rule knockout of the Bears in seven innings, eventually clinching a tie for the Racer program’s first-ever Valley championship.
Hogart was far from finished.
After helping the Racers go a perfect 4-0 in The Valley Championship to earn their first NCAA Championship berth in almost 20 years, he was huge in the Oxford Regional, going 8-for-19 (.421) at the plate with six RBIs and three big home runs. He then batted .300 against a very good Duke staff with three more big homers, including two in the Racers’ 5-4 Game 3 win in the Durham Super Regional.
He also was 3-for-5 in the Racers’ 6-4 loss to UCLA in the first round of the CWS. For his efforts, Hogart was named a Third-Team All-American by D1Baseball and a First-Team All-Valley selection.
Silva, who completed his junior season after transferring to the Murray campus from Troy of the Sun Belt Conference, signed with Baltimore.
Silva had the best record of anyone in The Valley, ending the year 9-3 with an ERA of 4.84 (fifth in the powerful Valley) with 81 strikeouts and 36 walks. He was part of the best pitching staff in The Valley for the second straight year with an ERA of 5.18.
Teams hit .249 against Silva (fifth in The Valley) and his 81 Ks was third in The Valley (with Schutte first at 97). However, perhaps the most important statistic for Silva was innings pitched as he logged 87.1, third in the league (Schutte was the leader at 96).
That durability was on full display in the NCAAs. First, he endured a very potent Georgia Tech lineup to reach the fifth inning of what became a 13-11 win for the Racers in the second game in Oxford. Then, only two days later, he gutsily went four good innings as the Racers built a huge lead, then withstood Ole Miss’ furious charge to win 12-11 and win their first-ever regional crown.
Less than a week later, Silva reached the sixth inning against Duke, keeping the bullpen fresh, in a 19-9 win in Game 2 of the super, forcing a Game 3.
However, his finest moment came in the Racers’ final game, the loss to Arkansas. Silva scattered six hits in six full innings and only allowed one run to one of the most dangerous offensive teams in the nation.
That performance was why Wood’s amazing performance on the mound was, basically, a requirement, as the Razorbacks could not make a breakaway to a large lead, keeping the Racers in the game.
Baseball America said that all 30 MLB organizations are expected to sign undrafted players over the next few days and weeks. It said that players can sign these types of deals for up to $150,000 without counting toward a team’s draft bonus pool.
There is no word as to how quickly the Racer players will begin play within their new organizations. n