Five Gators Drafted on Opening Night

GAINESVILLE, Fla.—Five University of Florida juniors were selected during the opening night of the 2016 Major League Baseball Draft on Thursday night. A.J. Puk was selected No. 6 overall by the Oakland A's and Dane Dunning went 29th to the Washington Nationals.

To start the second round, Logan Shore and Buddy Reed were selected by the A's and San Diego Padres, respectively. Peter Alonso was taken 64th overall by the New York Mets.

It's the second year in a row the A's have drafted a UF player in the first round after taking shortstop Richie Martin with the 20th pick last year.

With Puk and Dunning's selections, Florida head coach Kevin O'Sullivan has had six players drafted in the first round. There have been 18 Gators selected in school history in the first round of the MLB Draft.

LHP A.J. Puk | 6th Overall, Oakland A's

Puk, a native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is 16-9 in his career at Florida with a 3.45 earned run average in 36 starts. He has been among the best at limiting opposing hitters with a career .204 batting average against and 245 strikeouts – sixth most in school history.

In 2016, Puk ranks among the nation's best retiring the opposition. He is sixth in the country in strikeouts per nine innings (12.21, best in the SEC) and has held batters to a .195 average this season, which ranks seventh best in a season in school history.

RHP Dane Dunning | 29th Overall, Washington Nationals

Entering the season, Dunning was battling for a starting role in the Gators rotation. After four midweek starts, he settled into a weekend bullpen role and thrived over the second half of the season. He has allowed the fewest runs (20) among among qualifying SEC pitchers and walked just 11 batters, third best in the league.

A native of Fleming Island, Dunning has a 2.50 earned run average and record of 5-3. He ranks ninth in the country in strikeout to walk ratio (7.09), with 78 total strikeouts in 68.1 innings pitched. In his career, he has an 11-6 record with a 3.42 earned run average. Dunning has racked up 164 strikeouts in 152.2 innings pitched.

RHP Logan Shore | 47th Overall, Oakland A's

The 2016 SEC Pitcher of the Year was selected early in the second round by the A's. Shore has a perfect 11-0 record on the season with a 2.44 earned run average. He has twice been named the SEC Pitcher of the Week, both following complete game shutouts (at Miami, vs. Georgia).

The Coon Rapids, Minn., native is a two-time First Team All-SEC selection and currently has a streak of 16 straight wins to his credit. Shore has 29 career victories, two shy of the school record set by Marc Valdes.

OF Buddy Reed | 48th Overall, San Diego Padres

A defensive stalwart in the outfield, Reed played the entire regular season without committing an error -- earning his second straight SEC All-Defensive Team nod. He leads the team in runs scored (53), triples (6) and stolen bases (24).

Reed, from the Bronx, N.Y., is a career .273 hitter with 85 RBI and eight home runs. He has 47 stolen bases in his three years at Florida, including a straight steal of home in a win over Georgia.

1B Peter Alonso | 64th Overall, New York Mets

Alonso, who missed 10 games with a broken hand, returned with a bang during the NCAA Gainesville Regional. He smashed two home runs in his first game back and added another in game two. He was named the Regiona's Most Outstanding Player after hitting .571 (8-for-14) with three homers and eight RBI in three games.

On the season, the Tampa native is the Gators triple crown leader. Alonso leads the team with a .368 average, 12 home runs and 55 RBI. He was named All-SEC Second Team in 2016.

2016 MLB Draft Coverage

Thursday, June 9, 2016 – 7 p.m. on MLB Network (Rounds 1-2)
Friday, June 10, 2016 – 1 p.m. on MLB.com (Rounds 3-10)
Saturday, June 11, 2016 – 12 p.m. on MLB.com (Rounds 11-40)

ALL-TIME GATOR BASEBALL FIRST ROUND DRAFT PICKS

Player	Year	Team (Pick)
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)
A.J. Puk	2016	Oakland A's (6th)
Dane Dunning	2016	Washington Nationals (29th)

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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