GAINESVILLE, Fla. – University of Florida junior shortstop Richie Martin was chosen in the first round of the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft on Monday night by the Oakland A’s with the 20th choice.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – University of Florida junior shortstop Richie Martin was chosen in the first round of the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft on Monday night by the Oakland A's with the 20th choice. His selection marks the fourth time in four years that a member of head coach Kevin O'Sullivan's Gator squad has been taken in the opening round after catcher Mike Zunino went third overall to the Seattle Mariners, left-hander Brian Johnson was picked 31st by the Boston Red Sox in 2012 and right-hander Jonathon Crawford went No. 20 overall to the Detroit Tigers in 2013.
A semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award as the nation's top shortstop, Martin is batting .292 entering the NCAA College World Series, is one of two players to start every outing and leads the Gators with 59 runs and 20 stolen bases. He also has career highs in RBI (33), walks (33), homers (5) and triples (4) and his defense has been a driving force in the Gators leading the nation with a .985 fielding percentage.
As a sophomore, Martin started all 63 games at shortstop for the SEC Champions. He batted .265 with team highs in at bats (249), stolen bases (18) and runs scored (49) and enjoyed single-season highs in doubles (11), triples (2) and homers (1). Martin had a tremendous season with the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod League last summer, ranking second in the league with a single-season club record .364 batting average and placing first in both hits (59) and runs (36). He was ranked as the No. 8 prospect on the Cape by Baseball America, was a third-team Summer Collegiate All-American by Perfect Game and made the CCBL All-League Team.
All-Time Gator Baseball First-Round Draft Picks
| Player | Year | Team (Choice) |
| Jim Watkins | 1978 | Atlanta Braves (1st in the June - Secondary Phase) |
| Rob Murphy | 1981 | Cincinnati Reds (3rd in the January – Secondary Phase) |
| Randy O'Neal | 1981 | Detroit Tigers (15th in the June - Secondary Phase) |
| Robby Thompson | 1983 | San Francisco Giants (2nd in the June - Secondary Phase) |
| Rich Rice | 1983 | Baltimore Orioles (3rd in the June - Secondary Phase) |
| Scott Ruskin | 1986 | Montreal Expos (8th in the January - Secondary Phase) |
| Jamie McAndrew | 1989 | Los Angeles Dodgers (28th compensation) |
| John Burke | 1991 | Houston Astros (6th) |
| John Burke | 1992 | Colorado Rockies (27th) |
| Marc Valdes | 1993 | Florida Marlins (27th) |
| Brad Wilkerson | 1998 | Montreal Expos (33rd compensation) |
| Matt LaPorta | 2007 | Milwaukee Brewers (7th) |
| Mike Zunino | 2012 | Seattle Mariners (3rd) |
| Brian Johnson | 2012 | Boston Red Sox (31st) |
| Jonathon Crawford | 2013 | Detroit Tigers (20th) |
| Richie Martin | 2015 | Oakland A's (20th) |
The original First-Year Player Draft Rule called for drafting sessions to be held twice a year, January and June, with a regular phase and a secondary phase held in each draft. In 1987, baseball dissolved all but the regular phase of the June session. The secondary phase was held after the regular phase and was only for players who had been previously drafted but were not signed by the club that drafted them.
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