Vernon & Vogel Selected In MLB Draft

Murray State's Cade Vernon and Drew Vogel were selected this week by a pair of Major League Baseball teams in the 2024 MLB Draft.

Vernon, one of the top pitchers in the Missouri Valley Conference this spring, was selected in the 10^th round on Monday by the San Francisco Giants and Vogel was taken by the Houston Astros round Tuesday in the 15^th round.

The pair of MLB Draft selections in 2024, marks the first time since 1994 that the Racers have had a pair of players taken in the same draft. According to Baseball-Reference.com, the Racers have had 32 players drafted since 1965. In 1994, MSU's Marcus Logan (RHP) was taken in the 18^th round by the St. Louis Cardinals and Matt Culp (1B) went in the 42^nd round to the Cleveland Indians.

Vernon and Vogel are the first Racers to get the call from Major League Baseball since Derrick Watson, a flame-throwing righthander, was drafted in the 25^th round by the Colorado Rockies in 2017.

Cade Vernon, RHP, Bowling Green, Ky.
Every draft pick, no matter the sport, has a story to tell about the phone call that changed their future.

"I woke up to a phone call this morning that I missed and I got a voicemail and I was reading the transcript and then there was an MLB team in the transcript and I'm like, Oh, I better call this number back ASAP," Vernon said. "I had four identical calls this morning and surprisingly, none of those teams are the ones that picked me this afternoon. All the rounds go by and then it gets to round 10. The San Francisco Giants call me and he says, Hey, we're thinking about taking you in the 10th. He gave me the offer and I said, yes, almost instantly."

"I couldn't be happier for Cade and seeing one of his dreams come true," Murray State Head Coach Dan Skirka Said. "He believed in our program and development, put in the work and took the steps necessary to hear his name called on Draft Day. I am extremely excited to follow his journey to the Big Leagues."

Along the way, Vernon was a 255-pound freshman in 2021 from Bowling Green's South Warren High School. He needed to get into shape and boy did he. Vernon lost 70 pounds and then regained weight to the level that allowed him to perform his best at 210 pounds as a senior in 2024.

"As a freshman, I ended up getting a little bit out of shape, a little bit too heavy," Vernon said. "Coach Skirka and I visited about that and I decided to make a change. Since then, I've just taken care of my body and I've done everything I've been asked to do for my coaches. I pride myself in that because if I would've never dedicated myself to losing all that weight my freshman year, I probably wouldn't have had the same mindset to be here today."

In 2023, Vernon's coming of age moment happened in his final start as a junior against Missouri State in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. He threw the best game in his collegiate career with seven shutout innings limiting the Bears to three hits, while Vernon only walked one batter and struck out eight as the Racers scored a 6-1 win.

Earning All-MVC Second Team honors this spring, Vernon led the conference with nine wins and had the second-most strikeouts with 83 in 14 starts. He tossed 90.2 innings with the ninth-best ERA in the MVC at 4.67. Vernon was the Racers' ace and made 15 starts.

Drew Vogel, SS, White House, Tenn.
Basically, a starter from the time he stepped on campus, Drew Vogel became a mainstay at short stop for the Racers in 158 games over three full seasons coming out of the Covid-shortened season.

Vogel was named First Team All-MVC a year after receiving All-MVC Second Team honors in 2023, while he batted .339 in 2024 and was among the top five in the league in on-base percentage (.441), runs scored (62), hits (77), RBI (61), home runs (20) and total bases (153).

Having hit 14 home runs in his first three seasons with the Racers, Vogel exploded with 20 in his senior season and made chase of Wes Cunningham's single-season mark at MSU of 22 in 2010.

Like most MLB Draft hopefuls, Vogel was mostly pacing on the third and final day of the draft.

"We were just sitting around watching the draft all day and basically being anxious and stressful," Vogel said. "My advisor texted me and said the Astros want to take you in the 15th round. I think we should take it. And I was like, all right, I'm in, let's do it."

What followed were some joyous phone calls to family and friends to share the news.

"It became real when I saw my name come across the television," Vogel added. "I instantly called my mom and she was crazy excited, as you can imagine, tears of joy, hyperventilating!"

The days of travel baseball when Vogel was eight or nine years old, came to his mind and he was thankful.

"When I was younger, I did not appreciate that, but understanding now and how that all that went down, I could not imagine having to go through that for a for a child, but I'm very grateful that they did."

Out of White House, Tennessee, Vogel was recruited by Coach Skirka.

"I am so excited for Drew getting this opportunity," Skirka said. "For me personally, it was an honor to be along on the journey with Drew. Seeing him grow up from a freshmen who played in five games to a two-time team captain, all-conference selection and now part of the Houston Astros organization is one of the coolest moments of my coaching career. I am so proud of Drew."

"Dan is hands down the best coach I've had," Vogel stated. "His work ethic is crazy and he's a great coach. No matter who you are, when you got there, no matter what happens, he's always wanting to make you better person on and off the field. I called him and told him how much I appreciated him. If it wasn't for Coach Skirka, I probably would never have reached the potential I did at Murray State."

Murray State – MLB Draft Notes

The MVC had 11 players taken in the MLB Draft.
Since 1980, the Valley has boasted at least 10 draft picks in all but three years.
In the last five drafts, there have been 40 selections with nine of those being selected in a top-five round.
Vernon and Vogel marked the first draft for the Racers to have multiple players selected and the first since 1994.
In 1994, MSU's Marcus Logan (RHP) was taken in the 18th round by the St. Louis Cardinals and Matt Culp (1B) went in the 42nd round to the Cleveland Indians.
Vernon and Vogel are the first Racers to get the call from Major League Baseball since Derrick Watson, a flame-throwing righthander, was drafted in the 25th round by the Colorado Rockies in 2017.
Racers have had 32 players drafted since 1965 and 15 have been pitchers.
Steve Barrett is the only Racer to have been drafted multiple times (1973 by Braves, 1974 by Padres and 1974 by Angels in the supplemental draft).
There are 10 Murray State Hall of Famers that have been drafted.
George Dugan (LHP, 1965), John Beaton (RHP, 1966), Dave Gourieux (RHP, 1969), Steve Coulson (INF, 1973), Steve Barrett (INF, 1974), Jack Perconte (INF, 1976), Andy Rice (LHP, 1979), Kirk Rueter (LHP, 1991), Daniel Calhoun (LHP, 2009), Wes Cunningham (1B, 2010).

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