June 6, 2008

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -

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For the first time in University of Memphis baseball history, four pitchers were drafted in the 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Players Draft. Tiger pitchers Scott McGregor, Neil Schenk, Will Hudgens and Chris Kirkland were all selected on Day Two of the draft.

The 2008 draft marks the fourth time four Tigers were drafted in the same year, but the first time that all four were pitchers. Memphis had four selected in the 1976, 1994 and 2004.

"This is obviously a tremendous honor for these young men to have the opportunity to continue their careers at the professional level," said Memphis Head Coach Daron Schoenrock. "All four have worked hard to improve their skills and it has paid off. It's an honor for our program to have these guys selected by Major League clubs."

The highest draftee of the group, McGregor was taken in the 15th round, 455th overall by the St. Louis Cardinals. Schenk and Hudgens were both drafted in the 23rd round within six picks of each other. Schenk was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays as the 683rd overall selection and Hudgens was picked up by the Cincinnati Reds as the 689th draft pick. Kirkland was chosen in the 36th round by the Seattle Mariners at 1092nd overall.

McGregor and Hudgens, both juniors, will have the option to return for their senior seasons in 2009. McGregor is the highest U of M draftee since pitchers Jarrett Grube (290th overall) and Derek Hankins (292nd overall) were both selected in the 10th round of the 2004 MLB Draft.

Scott McGregor

A native of Liberty Township, Ohio, McGregor has been the Tigers' No. 1 pitcher since his freshman season. Despite deceiving totals in the 2008 season, McGregor was solid, leading the team with a career-high 55 strikeouts in 78.0 innings of work. He logged a 1-8 record with a 5.19 ERA in 13 starts in '08.

He made a name for himself around C-USA as rookie when he went 7-3 with 50 strikeouts and a 5.40 ERA. He also tossed three complete-game victories en route to picking up Second Team All-C-USA and C-USA All-Freshman honors.

For his career, McGregor has started in 42 of the 41 games he has pitched in. He turned in his lone career save in the only relief outing of his career. The righthander recorded a 5.74 ERA with 140 strikeouts and 13 wins over his three-year stint at Memphis.

Neil Schenk

Schenk had the best season of his collegiate career in 2008. He led the Tiger pitching staff with a 3.40 ERA in a staff-high 19 appearances as the club's top middle-to-late relief option out of the bullpen this year. He fanned 42 in 39.2 innings of work and held opposing hitters to a staff-low .219 batting average. As the top reliever this season, Schenk notched his first career save after tossing a scoreless inning of relief in a 10-7 win over UT-Martin back on February 27. He claimed his lone win of the year on April 23, when he held Middle Tennessee to just one hit in 4.1 innings of relief. The Memphis native posted a career record of seven wins against 13 losses with a 6.59 ERA. He was called on to pitch in 64 games and earned 17 starts--all of which came in his first three seasons. In 172.1 innings, Schenk recorded 135 strikeouts.

The southpaw earned ESPN The Magazine /CoSIDA Academic All-District IV First Team honors as well as being named to the 2008 C-USA All-Academic team. Schenk was also tabbed the University of Memphis Male Scholar Athlete of the 2007-08 school year.

Will Hudgens

A two-sport athlete at Memphis, Hudgens spent three years on the gridiron as a quarterback on the Tigers' football team before making the decision to take a chance on playing baseball. Despite not having played baseball since his senior year at Ridgeway High School, Hudgens decision proved to be a positive one as he quickly worked his way into Schoenrock's weekend rotation. Hudgens registered a 5-2 record and a 5.17 ERA in his rookie year. Included in his win totals were victories against Missouri (who finished the year ranked 23rd in the nation) No. 6 Clemson, No. 30 Southern Miss, UCF and No. 2 Rice in the 2007 C-USA Championships semifinals. He went 1-6 in 14 appearances in 2008. Hudgens received the starting nod eight times and logged 47.2 innings of work. He tied for third on the staff with 42 strikeouts.

For his two-year career on the diamond, Hudgens pitched in 31 games with 12 starts. He went 6-8 with a save, a 6.69 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 94.2 innings.

Chris Kirkland

Kirkland, was a two-year letterwinner behind the plate for Schoenrock's Tigers, but was drafted as a right-handed pitcher after showcasing a power-arm on the mound. The Knoxville, Tenn., native pitched in just eight games in his Memphis career and made one start. In those eight appearances, Kirkland was 0-1 with a 6.35 ERA. He struck out 14 batters in just 11.1 innings.