University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Two Southern Miss Players Taken on Second Day of 2021 MLB Player Draft
7/12/2021 4:56:00 PM | Baseball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – A pair of Southern Miss current players were picked in the second day of the 2021 MLB First-Year Player Draft Monday with Reed Trimble (Brandon, Miss.) being selected No. 65 overall by the Baltimore Orioles, while Ryan Och (Carver, Minn.) was taken in the seventh round (No. 220 overall) by the San Diego Padres.
Trimble heard his name called in the Competitive Balance B Round as he became the third Golden Eagle chosen in the opening two rounds over the last four drafts (Nick Sandlin went in the 2nd round to Cleveland in 2018 and Matt Wallner in the Competitive Balance A Round in 2019) and seventh player in the program's history taken in the top two rounds.
Trimble was a three-time Freshman All-America and two-time overall All-America selection in 2021 following a season that saw him tie for the team lead in batting average at .345, while holding the top spots on the squad with 17 home runs, 72 RBI and 12-of-14 stolen base attempts. His RBI total ranked tied for first in the country, while his other numbers included 14 doubles and two triples, while registering a .414 on-base percentage and a team-high .638 slugging percentage as he played in 59 of the team's 61 contests.
Trimble finished his year with a 12-game hitting streak, posting a .475 batting average (28x59) with four doubles, seven homers and 27 RBI. He ended his season by reaching base in each of the last 22 games – the longest by any Southern Miss player in 2021.
He is the first Golden Eagle taken by the Orioles since Scott Copeland was chosen in the 21st round of the 2010 draft and the fourth overall drafted by that organization with Tommy Davis (2nd/1994) and Bob McCrory (4th/2003) being the other pair.
For Och, the top pitcher out of the Golden Eagle bullpen, he appeared in 21 games and posted an 8-0 record with a 1.27 ERA to go along with two saves. He fanned 59 and walked 12 in 35 1/3 innings, giving up 26 hits and seven runs (five earned), while opponents hit .210 against him.
He earned second-team All-Conference USA honors and did not give up a run in his last two outings – earning victories over Louisiana Tech (5/27) in the Conference USA Tournament and Florida State (6/6) in the NCAA Oxford Regional – as he fanned 18 and walked three with three hits spanning 8 2/3 innings in those two outings. Och struck out a career-high 11 versus FSU in his longest outing of his career of 4 2/3 frames that including allowing just one hit and two walks.
Och allowed one earned run over his first 14 outings, which accounted for over 20 2/3 innings for a 0.44 ERA and had four or more strikeouts in five different appearances. He registered either a win or a save in his five longest outings, all of which went 2 2/3 innings or more.
He is only the second player from the Southern Miss program ever chosen by the Padres with Bo Davis being the other, as he was picked in 2009 in the 24th round.
Monday's Golden Eagle selections marked the fifth time in the last six MLB drafts that the program has had at least one player taken in the Top 10 rounds.
The draft concludes Tuesday with rounds 11-20, starting at 11 a.m., and can be followed on MLB.com.
Congrats to @reed_trimble7 for being selected in the Competitive Balance B round by the @Orioles (65th pick overall).
— Southern Miss Baseball (@SouthernMissBSB) July 12, 2021
Third time in the last four drafts that a @SouthernMissBSB player has been taken in the first two rounds.#EverythingMatters | #SMTTT pic.twitter.com/q7vijaKG9g
Trimble heard his name called in the Competitive Balance B Round as he became the third Golden Eagle chosen in the opening two rounds over the last four drafts (Nick Sandlin went in the 2nd round to Cleveland in 2018 and Matt Wallner in the Competitive Balance A Round in 2019) and seventh player in the program's history taken in the top two rounds.
Trimble was a three-time Freshman All-America and two-time overall All-America selection in 2021 following a season that saw him tie for the team lead in batting average at .345, while holding the top spots on the squad with 17 home runs, 72 RBI and 12-of-14 stolen base attempts. His RBI total ranked tied for first in the country, while his other numbers included 14 doubles and two triples, while registering a .414 on-base percentage and a team-high .638 slugging percentage as he played in 59 of the team's 61 contests.
Trimble finished his year with a 12-game hitting streak, posting a .475 batting average (28x59) with four doubles, seven homers and 27 RBI. He ended his season by reaching base in each of the last 22 games – the longest by any Southern Miss player in 2021.
He is the first Golden Eagle taken by the Orioles since Scott Copeland was chosen in the 21st round of the 2010 draft and the fourth overall drafted by that organization with Tommy Davis (2nd/1994) and Bob McCrory (4th/2003) being the other pair.
Congrats to our @och_ryan who was chosen by the @padres in the 7th round (220th pick overall).#EverythingMatters | #SMTTT pic.twitter.com/FzSiHBmIFs
— Southern Miss Baseball (@SouthernMissBSB) July 12, 2021
For Och, the top pitcher out of the Golden Eagle bullpen, he appeared in 21 games and posted an 8-0 record with a 1.27 ERA to go along with two saves. He fanned 59 and walked 12 in 35 1/3 innings, giving up 26 hits and seven runs (five earned), while opponents hit .210 against him.
He earned second-team All-Conference USA honors and did not give up a run in his last two outings – earning victories over Louisiana Tech (5/27) in the Conference USA Tournament and Florida State (6/6) in the NCAA Oxford Regional – as he fanned 18 and walked three with three hits spanning 8 2/3 innings in those two outings. Och struck out a career-high 11 versus FSU in his longest outing of his career of 4 2/3 frames that including allowing just one hit and two walks.
Och allowed one earned run over his first 14 outings, which accounted for over 20 2/3 innings for a 0.44 ERA and had four or more strikeouts in five different appearances. He registered either a win or a save in his five longest outings, all of which went 2 2/3 innings or more.
He is only the second player from the Southern Miss program ever chosen by the Padres with Bo Davis being the other, as he was picked in 2009 in the 24th round.
Monday's Golden Eagle selections marked the fifth time in the last six MLB drafts that the program has had at least one player taken in the Top 10 rounds.
The draft concludes Tuesday with rounds 11-20, starting at 11 a.m., and can be followed on MLB.com.
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