Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | 24 Hawkeyes to Watch 2016-17 | Hawk Talk Monthly — May 2017
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Two University of Iowa baseball student-athletes were selected in the sixth round of the 2017 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Tuesday.
Junior Jake Adams was chosen with the 181st pick by the Houston Astros, while McCoy was taken seven picks later — No. 188 — by the Baltimore Orioles. They are Iowa’s highest draft picks since 1999 when Wes Obermueller was taken in the second round by the Kansas City Royals.
Adams was selected by the Astros after earning All-America plaudits from three different outlets (thus far) following his junior season. The South Dakota native was a second-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball and College Sports Madness and a third-team selection by Baseball America.
The first baseman was also tabbed as the unanimous Big Ten Player of the Year and the only unanimous first-team All-Big Ten selection in 2017. He leads the NCAA lead with 29 home runs in his first season of Division I baseball, while ranking first in home runs per game (.48), third in total bases (183), fourth in slugging percentage (.747), and seventh in RBIs (72).
Adams was named a semifinalist for USA Baseball’s Golden Spikes Award on May 31, an honor that is given to the top amateur player in the United States. He is the first Hawkeye to be selected to the prestigious list.
The first baseman started all 61 games, where he led the Big Ten Conference in home runs, RBIs, slugging percentage, runs (55), and total bases, while also ranking second in hits (82), sixth in batting average, 12th in on-base percentage (.417), and 14th in doubles (14). Adams hit .335, having hit safely in 46 games and reached safely in 53 contests. He had 27 multi-hit and 16 multi-RBI games this season.
Adams shattered Iowa’s single-season home run record of 22, which had stood since 1986, and he broke the all-time single-season Big Ten Conference record. He had four multi-home run games, including a three home run game at Kansas State on March 19, where he went 3-for-4 with four runs and seven RBIs.
McCoy was selected by Baltimore after earning second-team All-Big Ten honors as a senior. The shortstop posted a .328 average, while leading the league in hits (83) and runs (55) and ranking second in doubles (18). He also had two triples and five home runs, while driving in 34 runs.
The Washington, Illinois, native posted 26 multi-hit games, including seven three-hit contests, and had seven multi-RBI games. McCoy posted a 15-game hitting and 26-game reached base streak during the season.
Defensively, McCoy was one of the league’s best, posting a .974 fielding percentage, committing just nine errors in 340 chances, while being a part of one of the nation’s best double-play tandems.
The 2017 MLB Draft concludes Wednesday with Rounds 11-40 beginning at 11 a.m. (CT).
