Three WSU baseball players drafted, one signed

Then redshirt junior left-hander Damon Jones pitches in a game against Cal State Northridge on March 25, 2017 at Bailey-Brayton Field in Pullman.

JACOB MOORE, Former Evergreen sports editor

Three Cougar baseball players were selected in the 2017 MLB draft last week. Redshirt junior left-hander Damon Jones, junior infielder Shane Matheny and junior right-hander Colby Nealy were taken as numbers 533, 696 and 1060 in the draft respectively.

Jones held a 3-3 pitching record with a season ERA of 4.72. Matheny won All-Pac-12 honors last season with a team-leading .309 batting average. Nealy pitched in about 40 total innings, striking out 27 batters over the course of the year.

Athletic Communications confirmed that Jones, who was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies and Matheny by the San Francisco Giants have not yet indicated whether they have signed an MLB contract.

As of Tuesday, Nealy has reportedly signed a contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, meaning that he will not be returning to WSU next year.

If drafted, players can choose not to sign after being selected, and they may return to the collegiate level of play, as long as they are eligible.

Selected athletes can negotiate contracts with the organizations that signed them up until the deadline. According to MLB’s first-year player draft rules, the deadline for signing a selected player is July 15.

Editor’s note: This article was updated from its original version.