Arizona baseball: Wildcats balance College World Series and MLB Draft

The Arizona coaches feel pretty good about where they stand after the MLB Draft

Of course it’s great to advance to the Super Regionals and beyond, but it adds an extra layer of stress for college baseball coaches around the country.

The MLB Draft is happening throughout Super Regional weekend, and not only do you have to know which of your current players have been drafted, but the various coaching staffs have to keep an eye out for incoming players that may not actually make it to campus based on the draft results.

Wildcats coaching staff in the "Situation Room" breaking down scouting reports #bearingdown http://pic.twitter.com/AwA8hloIMN

— Sergio Brown (@UACoachSergio) June 3, 2016

"It was a unique dynamic having it go on during a Super Regional game," Arizona head coach Jay Johnson said of his draft weekend. "I do believe we fared really well. As far as the recruits, to have six guys drafted but to have none of them go in the top ten rounds it’s almost like the perfect formula in terms of the types of guys you want to recruit."

"I do feel like where they went shows their value on their education and playing baseball at Arizona as their path to the Major Leagues."

"We came out smelling like a rose," assistant coach Sergio Brown added. "We got very, very lucky. We’ve scored a great group of guys and I think we may only lose one guy and all the rest we’re going to get."

"I think we’ve ended up at a point where we won’t have to replace anybody from the draft."

JoJo Romero was drafted in the fourth round, but the staff did not foresee him coming to campus anyways due to off-the-field things. 33rd round draft choice Nate Sweeney is also expected to skip school, and commit Samad Taylor has already signed after being drafted in the tenth round.

The one guy that Arizona really seems to have lucked out on is Nick Quintana. He was drafted in the 11th round by the Boston Red Sox, but the coaches have a good feeling he’ll make it to campus.

"It really surprised me," Brown said of Quintana falling out of the top ten rounds. "I think we’re going to land a great baseball player. I think we’re going to land a guy who’s polished that has a premium bat and that has a chance to be a pretty good Wildcat."

Johnson added that he will be visiting Quintana and his family in Northern California the first week of July, and that Nick is currently playing in a summer league that Arizona set up for him.

He was named Male Athlete of the Year by the Las Vegas Sun. "I have no problem going to Arizona; I think I’d love it," he said in that interview. "But if it’s the right team, if it’s the right pick, if it’s the right fit, I’ll go pro."

That will be the one guy to watch, but everyone else is expected to be on campus, including a handful of junior college standouts like Tylor Megill, Landon Faulkner, Seve Romo and Cory Voss.

Don’t think Arizona will go overlooked next year.

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