Miller becomes third highest draft pick in Hilltopper history
June 10, 2015
Anderson Miller became the third highest overall pick of any Hilltopper selected in the MLB draft on Tuesday afternoon when he was selected 98th overall in the third round by the Kansas City Royals.
Outfielder Kes Carter (2011) and third baseman Wade Gaynor (2009) are the only higher draft picks in WKU history at 56 and 89 overall respectively. Carter remains the only first round selection in program history.
Since Gaynor joined the Detroit Tigers developmental system in 2009, the Hilltoppers have sent 17 student-athletes into professional baseball via the MLB draft.
Furthermore, Anderson will become the 21st Hilltopper since 2008 to sign a professional contract once he officially puts pen-to-paper.
Miller, an outfielder and southpaw pitcher spent three seasons on the Hill, totaling 139 hits and a .302 batting average in 127 games wearing the red and white.
Prior to the draft, Miller had been working out with the Royals, the Philadelphia Phillies and the Washington Nationals. Conveniently, the Royals Single-A team the Lexington Legends competes in Miller’s hometown of Lexington, Kentucky, where he played four years of baseball at Lafayette High School, and lettered one year in basketball.
He was a 2014 All-Sun Belt Conference selection, and was most recently named First Team All-Conference USA in 2015, ranking in the league third in home runs and runs scored (12 and 47 respectively), fourth in walks (41), fifth in triples and slugging percentage (3 and .560 respectively), sixth in total bases (108) and ninth in on-base percentage (.419).
Miller marks the ninth Hilltopper in program history to join the Kansas City Royals organization, and the sixth in the last decade.
Once Miller inks his contract, he will become the sixth Hilltopper currently playing professional baseball—joining the likes of Ian Tompkins (2014) and Andrew Edwards (2013), both of whom joined the Royals organization out of college, as well as Phil Wetherell (2011), Terrence Dayleg (2009), and Wade Gaynor (2011).
Senior first baseman Ryan Church and junior third baseman Danny Hudzina are still hoping to become late draft picks, as rounds 11-40 of the MLB draft continue on Wednesday.
