MLB Draft Rewind: 2015
June 5, 2020
The 2015 season might have been one of the most memorable in Razorback history. Arkansas rebounding from a 15-15 record on April 4 to win 18 of their final 25 regular season games and surge into postseason play. After going 2-2 in the SEC Tournament, the Hogs became one of five teams in the country to advance to 14 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, claiming the No. 2 seed in the Stillwater Regional hosted by Oklahoma State.
In what is likely head coach Dave Van Horn’s best coaching job in his 27-year career, the Razorbacks went 3-0 in the Stillwater Regional and came back home to host the second Super Regional in program history, knocking off Missouri State in three games for the most improbable College World Series appearance in Arkansas’ storied history. Van Horn made his sixth trip to Omaha, including his fourth as the Razorback skipper. He currently has the second-most College World Series appearances among all head coaches in the SEC.
The 2015 Razorbacks finished 40-25, the sixth time in the past seven seasons that Arkansas won 40 or more games. Four players were selected in the MLB Draft, including Benintendi, and four Razorbacks earned conference honors. Benintendi was named the SEC Player of the Year while relief pitcher Zach Jackson was named First Team All-SEC, third baseman Bobby Wernes earned SEC All-Defensive Team honors and right-handed pitcher Keaton McKinney was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team.
The Razorbacks finished 2015 at No. 2 in the country in average attendance for the third straight year with 8,290 fans per game. The 12,167 fans that attended the June 6 Super Regional game against Missouri State was the largest crowd in stadium history and the third-largest Super Regional crowd in NCAA history. Arkansas also set school records for actual attendance and tickets sold for a single game during the 2015 season.
2015 MLB DRAFT
Andrew Benintendi (OF) – Boston Red Sox – 1st Round (7)
Trey Killian (RHP) – Colorado Rockies – 9th Round (257)
Bobby Wernes (INF) – Houston Astros – 30th Round (889)
Tyler Spoon (OF) – Boston Red Sox – 35th Round (1,041)
Benintendi, from Cincinnati, Ohio, came to Arkansas after turning down a 31st-round selection in the 2013 MLB Draft, leaving two years later as the No. 7 overall pick in the 2015 event with a $3.5 million signing bonus. He had a solid freshman season in 2014, racking up 62 hits, only 10 for extra bases with eight doubles, a triple and a homer, as well as 27 RBIs and 45 runs scored for a .276 batting average. He earned Freshman All-SEC accolades, leading the team in runs (45) and stolen bases (17) in his first year on the Hill. His second season at Arkansas; however, was extraordinary. In 65 games, a College World Series year, Benintendi rattled off 85 hits, this time 35 extra-base hits including 13 doubles, two triples and 20 homers, with 57 RBIs and 62 runs scored for a whopping .376 average at the plate. He put together arguably the finest season in Razorback history. Benintendi became the first Arkansas player to win the Golden Spikes Award, given annually to the nation’s best amateur player. He also won the Dick Howser Trophy and was named Baseball America Player of the Year and Collegiate Baseball Player of the Year as the nation’s best collegiate player. Benintendi became just the third player in SEC history to lead the league in home runs and batting average as he joined Rafael Palmeiro (Mississippi State, 1984) and Jeff Abbott (Kentucky, 1994) as the only players in conference history to accomplish the feat, also winning SEC Player of the Year in 2015. He became the first player in school history to lead the nation in home runs (20) and became the first Division I player since 2009 to hit 20 home runs and steal 20 bases in one season. His historic season was capped by being selected No. 7 overall by the Boston Red Sox in the 2015 MLB Draft, the highest a Razorback has been drafted since Jeff King went No. 1 overall in 1986. After a meteoric rise through the minor league ranks, Benintendi has already played in three postseasons with the Boston Red Sox and finished second in the American League Rookie of the Year voting in 2018. The former Hog hit 20 home runs and stole 20 bases in 2017 to become the youngest left fielder to achieve the feat since Barry Bonds in 1987. He was also the third Red Sox rookie to have that kind of campaign, joining Normal Garciaparra and Ellis Burks. He was also instrumental in capturing Boston’s World Series title in 2018, making him the fourth Razorback to win a world title.
Killian, an Arkansan from Mountain Home, pitched three years for the Razorbacks from 2013-15. As a freshman, he worked 16 games, starting five, putting together a 3-3 record and a 3.19 ERA with 34 strikeouts over 36.2 innings. In 2014, he posted four wins and a 2.30 ERA in 14 starts, moving into the role as a sophomore, tallying 94 innings pitched with 62 K’s. He added 15 more starts and three wins in 2015, once again ringing up 62 batters in 87.0 frames to wrap his collegiate career with 10 wins, 158 strikeouts and a 3.43 ERA. He played four years of pro ball, which featured back-to-back seasons with double-digit win totals, including 12 in 2016 and 11 in 2017. He wrapped his professional career with 24 wins in 69 starts, 303 strikeouts and a 5.82 earned run average.
Wernes, a native of Olathe, Kansas, spent his first year of college ball at Neosho County Community College before joining the Razorbacks for 2014-15 seasons. As a sophomore in 2014, Wernes recorded 38 hits, 18 RBIs and 18 runs over 56 games, then upped it to 65 knocks with seven doubles, six triples and five homers with 27 RBIs and 50 runs scored over 65 games in 2015. He went on to play four years of professional ball, two in the Houston organization and two in the Colorado system. He played in a total of 225 games, posting 215 hits, 52 doubles, two triples and five homers, with 86 runs driven in and 108 runs scored for a career .272 batting average.
Spoon returned for the 2015 and had one of his best years as a Razorback as a redshirt-junior, rattling off 80 hits in 64 games, with 20 doubles, a triple and six homers, as well as 54 RBIs and 38 runs scored for a .327 batting average. He went on to play three years in the Red Sox organization at the various levels of “A” ball. He played in 127 total games with 107 hits, 17 doubles, two triples and five homers, along with 54 RBIs and 50 runs scored during his time in professional baseball.
On June 6, we’ll take a look at the 2016 draft, which featured six draft picks.
