Ole Miss pitcher Doug Nikhazy drafted in second round by Cleveland Indians
OXFORD, Miss. — With the No. 58 overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, Ole Miss left-handed pitcher Doug Nikhazy was drafted in the second round Monday by the Cleveland Indians.
With the 58th pick, the @Indians select @OleMissBSB left-hander Doug Nikhazy, No. 56 on the Top 250 Draft Prospects list:
Watch live: https://t.co/oDjcuCzH7G pic.twitter.com/57VRBUda6R
— MLB Draft (@MLBDraft) July 12, 2021
Taylor Broadway was also selected, going in the 6th round to the Chicago White Sox.
Doug is the 19th Ole Miss pitcher to be drafted in the top five rounds during the Bianco era. Fellow Rebel pitcher Gunnar Hoglund was taken in yesterday’s MLB Draft first round, giving Ole Miss selections in the first two rounds for the first time since 2008 and just the second time in program history.
Nikhazy earned a program-record 12th win of the 2021 season in the Rebels’ Super Regional victory at No. 5 Arizona. As he did throughout the season, the lefty dominated on the mound, striking out 10 in the win and notching his eighth 10-strikeout outing of the year.
In a testament to what Nikhazy has meant to the Ole Miss program, he finished the season with 142 Ks on the season — beating out Will Kline (134 in 2007) and Drew Pomeranz (139 in 2010). Doug finishes second only to Lance Lynn who notched 146 strikeouts in the 2007 season.
Just a winner! The best big game pitcher we have ever had at Ole Miss. https://t.co/iWg5iOeaVk
— Coach Mike Bianco (@CoachMikeBianco) July 12, 2021
Also named an All-American in 2020 by Collegiate Baseball, Nikhazy is just the fourth player and first pure pitcher to earn two-time All-America status in program history. After his outstanding season this year, Nikhazy earned unanimous All-American honors with first team selections from ABCA/Rawlings, Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, NCBWA, and D1Baseball.
He joined Drew Pomeranz (2010) and Alex Yarbrough (2012) as the only three Rebels to earn First Team nods from all the above publications. Also named an All-American in 2020 by Collegiate Baseball, Nikhazy is just the fourth player and first pure pitcher to earn two-time All-America status in program history.
Best of luck to Doug in MLB. We will all be cheering for him on DougDay in the majors!Â
(Photo credit: Josh McCoy, Ole Miss Athletics)
Evelyn Van Pelt
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn’s love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.
