Upcoming Event: Baseball versus Texas A&M on March 13, 2026
Baseball
vs Texas A&M
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Three Sooners Selected on Second Day of MLB Draft
June 11, 2020 | Baseball
NORMAN — Three more University of Oklahoma baseball players heard their names called Thursday night, as Levi Prater, Brady Lindsly and Dane Acker were selected on the second day of the Major League Baseball Draft.
Prater was selected in the third round by the St. Louis Cardinals, while Lindsly and Acker were picked in the fourth round by the Washington Nationals and Oakland Athletics, respectively.
The Sooners had four players selected in the first four rounds of the MLB Draft for the first time in program history. With four selections, OU tied Vanderbilt and Michigan for the second-most players taken in the 2020 MLB Draft, trailing on the five selections by Arizona State.
Prater, a junior who was drafted 93rd overall, is OU's highest left-handed pitcher selected since Dillon Overton went in the 63rd overall in 2013. Prater served as a weekend starter for the Sooners in 2019 and 2020, posting an 8-4 record and 3.30 ERA over that span. In 154.1 career innings across 53 appearances, he totaled 194 strikeouts and allowed opponents to hit just .201 against him.
In four starts during the shortened 2020 season, the Ada, Okla., product went 1-0 with a 3.42 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 23.2 innings. As a sophomore he earned second-team All-Big 12 honors and led OU starters with a 3.26 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 80.0 innings. He went 7-4, started three shutouts and led the Big 12 with five pickoffs. He went at least 6.0 innings in nine starts and allowed one or zero runs seven times. During the 2018 season, he set an OU freshman record by making 33 appearances, a figure which included four starts, struck out 64 batters in 50.2 innings and allowed a .169 opponent batting average.
Lindsly is OU's fourth-highest catcher ever taken in the MLB Draft at 123rd overall (John Russell was picked 13th in 1982, Jackson Williams went 43rd in 2007 and Anthony Hermelyn went 109th in 2014). A senior catcher who contributed all four years at OU and started consistently in each of the last three, Lindsly played in 148 career games with 121 starts. He hit .275 with 10 home runs, 26 doubles, six triples, 79 RBIs and 66 runs scored, and registered a .991 career fielding percentage. During the shortened 2020 season, he batted .271 with six extra base hits and 13 RBIs. He earned All-Big 12 honorable mention in 2019 after hitting .291 with 11 doubles, four triples, five home runs, 34 RBIs and 26 runs scored.
Acker made a significant impact in his first season with the Sooners. The Brenham, Texas, product turned in one of the greatest performances in program history with a no-hitter against No. 11 LSU in the Shriners College Classic on March 1, striking out 11 batters and walking just one. In four starts, he posted a 1-1 record and 3.51 ERA, struck out 28 batters and allowed just five walks and a .170 opponent batting average in 25.2 innings. A transfer from San Jacinto College, Acker began his OU career with 5.0 innings with one hit and one run allowed to help the Sooners win the season-opening series over Virginia.
A total of 281 players have been drafted into Major League Baseball out of Oklahoma since 1967 and at least one player has been drafted every year since 1970. OU has had at least one player picked in the top 10 rounds in every MLB Draft since 2011 and has had multiple players drafted every year since 2009.
Prater was selected in the third round by the St. Louis Cardinals, while Lindsly and Acker were picked in the fourth round by the Washington Nationals and Oakland Athletics, respectively.
The Sooners had four players selected in the first four rounds of the MLB Draft for the first time in program history. With four selections, OU tied Vanderbilt and Michigan for the second-most players taken in the 2020 MLB Draft, trailing on the five selections by Arizona State.
Prater, a junior who was drafted 93rd overall, is OU's highest left-handed pitcher selected since Dillon Overton went in the 63rd overall in 2013. Prater served as a weekend starter for the Sooners in 2019 and 2020, posting an 8-4 record and 3.30 ERA over that span. In 154.1 career innings across 53 appearances, he totaled 194 strikeouts and allowed opponents to hit just .201 against him.
In four starts during the shortened 2020 season, the Ada, Okla., product went 1-0 with a 3.42 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 23.2 innings. As a sophomore he earned second-team All-Big 12 honors and led OU starters with a 3.26 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 80.0 innings. He went 7-4, started three shutouts and led the Big 12 with five pickoffs. He went at least 6.0 innings in nine starts and allowed one or zero runs seven times. During the 2018 season, he set an OU freshman record by making 33 appearances, a figure which included four starts, struck out 64 batters in 50.2 innings and allowed a .169 opponent batting average.
Lindsly is OU's fourth-highest catcher ever taken in the MLB Draft at 123rd overall (John Russell was picked 13th in 1982, Jackson Williams went 43rd in 2007 and Anthony Hermelyn went 109th in 2014). A senior catcher who contributed all four years at OU and started consistently in each of the last three, Lindsly played in 148 career games with 121 starts. He hit .275 with 10 home runs, 26 doubles, six triples, 79 RBIs and 66 runs scored, and registered a .991 career fielding percentage. During the shortened 2020 season, he batted .271 with six extra base hits and 13 RBIs. He earned All-Big 12 honorable mention in 2019 after hitting .291 with 11 doubles, four triples, five home runs, 34 RBIs and 26 runs scored.
Acker made a significant impact in his first season with the Sooners. The Brenham, Texas, product turned in one of the greatest performances in program history with a no-hitter against No. 11 LSU in the Shriners College Classic on March 1, striking out 11 batters and walking just one. In four starts, he posted a 1-1 record and 3.51 ERA, struck out 28 batters and allowed just five walks and a .170 opponent batting average in 25.2 innings. A transfer from San Jacinto College, Acker began his OU career with 5.0 innings with one hit and one run allowed to help the Sooners win the season-opening series over Virginia.
A total of 281 players have been drafted into Major League Baseball out of Oklahoma since 1967 and at least one player has been drafted every year since 1970. OU has had at least one player picked in the top 10 rounds in every MLB Draft since 2011 and has had multiple players drafted every year since 2009.
Players Mentioned
Johnson and Carmichael Postgame vs North Carolina
Monday, June 02
BB Highlights: OU 9, UNC 5
Monday, June 02
Johnson, Dickerson, Willits Postgame vs North Carolina
Sunday, June 01
BB Highlights: OU 17, Nebraska 1
Sunday, June 01
