NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State baseball's John Rave and Brent Headrick have been selected in Major League Baseball's First-Year Player Draft. Rave was a fifth-round pick of the Kansas City Royals, while Headrick was a 9th-round selection of the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday.
Rave, a 2019 All-Missouri Valley Conference First-Team selection, was the 139th pick overall. He is the third Redbird position player to be drafted in the top five rounds over the past five years, joining Paul DeJong who was selected in the fourth round by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2015, and Owen Miller who was picked in the third round last year by the San Diego Padres.
"I'm proud of and happy for John," ISU head coach Steve Holm said. "I think he has been drafted by an organization that has excelled in developing outfielders with similar skill sets to John's. He has been one of the best players ever to wear a Redbird uniform and he has earned this opportunity to chase his dream of being a big leaguer."
The Bloomington, Illinois, native leapt onto the national scene when he was named an all-star in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League last summer. He followed that stellar performance in summer baseball with a strong junior campaign, as he started every game in centerfield and manned the leadoff spot in the order for the Redbirds in 2019.
The junior slashed .297/.377/.502 during the season and led the team in conference play with 97 at-bats, 22 runs scored, eight home runs, 22 RBI, and 58 total bases. Rave finished the season tied for first in runs scored (57), third in hits (81) and RBI (51) and fourth in home runs (12) in the MVC. In 2018, Rave was named to the All-MVC Second Team, after earning All-MVC Honorable Mention honors following his freshman season. It was not the first time Rave had heard his named called in the draft, however, as he was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 35th round of the 2016 MLB Draft before coming to play collegiately at Illinois State.
Headrick, the 2019 Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year, was selected 269th overall by the Twins. The junior left-handed starter posted a 9-3 record and 3.47 ERA in 2019, helping lead ISU to a share of the MVC regular-season title and earn an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament. He struck out 115, walked 31 and allowed just 74 hits in 96 innings of work on the season, and significantly upped his stock by striking out 14 batters in six innings of work last Friday at the NCAA Regional in a win over the nationally-ranked Indiana Hoosiers.
"I could not be happier for Brent," Holm stated. "His last nine starts as a Redbird left no doubt in anyone's mind that he was ready to be a professional. There is absolutely no way our team does what it did without Brent Headrick. We as a program are forever in debt to him."
The Custer Park, Illinois, native defeated every MVC team he faced this season, going a perfect 7-0 with a 1.31 ERA with one complete game to earn pitcher of the year honors and All-MVC First-Team plaudits. Headrick tossed 48 innings, allowing 12 runs (seven earned) on 30 hits while walking just 13 batters and fanning 60 during league play. Last season, he was named to the All-MVC Defensive Team along with Rave.
The MLB First-Year Player Draft continues with rounds 11 through 40 on Wednesday. For continued updates on Illinois State Baseball players and the draft, follow the Redbirds on Twitter (@RedbirdBaseball) and Instagram (@isuredbirdbaseball).
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