The recent past and possibly the near future of the Arizona Wildcats baseball program was front and center during the final handful of picks Tuesday in the three-day, 615-selection Major League Baseball draft.
At pick No. 595 in the 20th round, the Cleveland Guardians selected 6-foot UA righty Cam Walty — a pick that solidified all three of Arizona’s regular Friday, Saturday and Sunday starters hearing their names called by a big-league club in this year’s draft.
Walty, primarily the Wildcats’ Sunday starter this past season, followed Friday and Saturday starters Jackson Kent (Washington Nationals) and Clark Candiotti (San Diego Padres) and reliever Anthony “Tonko” Susac (Texas Rangers) as UA pitchers drafted this season. Kent and Candiotti both went in the fourth round; Susac in the eighth.
Walty, who led the Wildcats with a 3.29 ERA and with eight wins — he was 8-2 on the year — threw at least eight innings in both the Wildcats’ Pac-12 regular season championship-winning matchup with Oregon State and the UA’s conference tournament championship victory over USC a week later.
Queen Creek Casteel’s Mason Russell pitches against Peoria Liberty during the Boras Classic Baseball Tournament at Corona del Sol High School in Tempe on March 13.
Four picks after Cleveland took Walty, the Cincinnati Reds selected UA commit Mason Russell of Casteel High School in Queen Creek with the final pick, No. 599 overall.
Russell entered the week ranked 97th overall in MLB.com’s predraft rankings, but his drop to the 20th round is most likely tied to the lack of confidence by a team to ensure a signed contract. The Reds selecting him at that spot means there’s, of course, a chance he’ll sign — most likely if, say, the Reds don’t lock in one of their early-round picks — though odds are more likely than not the 6-foot-2 lefty still ends up in Tucson pitching for UA coach Chip Hale in 2025.
Smith Bailey, another in-state product hailing from Mountain Ridge High School in Glendale, came into draft week as MLB.com’s 227th overall prospect. Bailey went undrafted, all but ensuring he’ll join the Wildcats rotation as a 6-foot-5 righty.
A handful of draft eligible Wildcats were not picked as well, including outfielder Emilio Corona and pitcher Dawson Netz. Both are out of college eligibility and would likely sign with an organization as undrafted free agents.
Arizona’s Garen Caulfield (1) draws a breath before stepping into the box against Grand Canyon in the teams' 2024 NCAA Regional opener on May 31 at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson.
UA infielder Garen Caulfield, who has one more year of college eligibility left, also went undrafted. A 2024 All-Pac-12 selection, Caulfield hit .310 with five home runs, 19 doubles and 42 RBIs this past season.
After the Wildcats were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament on June 1, Caulfield discussed his affinity for the UA program, and the possibility of a return.
“I’ve had kind of a crazy college career,” said Caulfield, whose 2025 campaign would be a sixth college season. “If I did come back for another year, that’d be awesome. I love it here.”
Arizona RHP Clark Candiotti slaps the Arizona sticker on the bracket board after the Wildcats defeated Stanford to advance to the Pac-12 Tournament championship game at Scottsdale Stadium (video by Michael Lev / Arizona Daily Star)
