Lyons Selected By Oakland on 2nd Day of MLB Draft
6/9/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Liberty Flames pitcher Jared Lyons was selected in the ninth round by the Oakland Athletics on the second day of the 2015 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft, Tuesday.
The Athletics chose Lyons, who finished his career in a Flames uniform this past season, with the 278th overall pick of this year's draft.
The left-hander becomes the highest Liberty draft pick since outfielder Ian Parmley was taken with the seventh round by the Toronto Blue Jays and John Niggli was selected in the ninth round by the Texas Rangers in 2012.
Lyons becomes the second Liberty player to be selected by Oakland in program history. Pitcher Dan Valentin was picked by the A's in the 31st round of the 2000 draft.
With the selection of Lyons, Liberty has had 59 players selected in the MLB Draft during the 42-year history of its program and had a player chosen in each draft since 2000. Over the past four years, Liberty has had 21 players selected during the MLB Draft.
Lyons completed his Liberty career by being named to the 2015 Louisville Slugger NCAA Division I All-America team, becoming the first Flames pitcher selected to a postseason NCAA Division I All-America team in program history. He also was voted the 2015 Big South Pitcher of the Year.
The Yorktown, Va., native, posted career highs with an 8-2 mark and a 1.99 ERA over 99 2/3 innings of work, this past season. He made 16 appearances with 13 starts, striking out 100 batters, while walking 22. The senior finished the year 20th in the nation in WHIP (walks-hits per innings pitched) and his strikeout total was the second most in a single season in program history.
Lyons led the Big South with a .197 opponent batting average, and for most of 2015, he led the Big South in ERA, before finishing second. In addition, he was second in innings pitched, while completing the year third in wins and strikeouts.
Lyons was named the Big South Pitcher of the Week three times this past season. He also received the same honor from the ECAC three times during 2015.
In his four seasons in a Flames uniform, the left-hander posted an 18-10 record with a school record 2.83 ERA and two saves in 78 appearances.
The 2015 MLB Draft concludes with rounds 11 through 40, tomorrow.
