Five More Rebels Taken on Day Three of MLB Draft

Ole Miss had its total number of drafted players jump to nine on Saturday as five more Rebels were selected in day three of the 2014 First Year Player Draft.
Braxton Lee (12th round – Tampa Bay Rays), Will Allen (13th round – Detroit Tigers), Hawtin Buchanan (20th round – Seattle Mariners), Aaron Greenwood (28th round – Houston Astros) and Christian Trent (20th round – Los Angeles Dodgers) were added to the list of drafted player, joining Chris Ellis (3rd round – Los Angeles Angels), Auston Bousfield (5th round – San Diego Padres), Austin Anderson (9th round – Baltimore Orioles) and Josh Laxer (9th round – Detroit Tigers) who were all taken in day two of the draft.
Lee was the first player from the Rebels drafted on the third day of selections. The junior has helped Ole Miss post a 44-18 record this season and a 19-11 mark in SEC play as the Rebels captured the SEC Western Division Championship and finished second in the overall standings.
The speedy outfielder leads the SEC in steals with 30 this season on 35 attempts and is eight shy of the single season record at Ole Miss set by Jordan Henry in 2009. Lee is hitting at a .294 clip and has drawn 29 walks to only 28 strikeouts on the season as the Rebels’ leadoff hitter.
Allen, a finalist for the Johnny Bench Award as the nation’s top catcher and the Gregg Olson Award as the nation’s breakout player, is hitting at a .351 clip heading into the weekend’s NCAA Super Regional at top-ranked Louisiana-Lafayette and holds seven home runs with 59 RBI on the season.
He is third in the Southeastern Conference in batting average, fourth in slugging percentage (.524), second in hits (87), second in RBI, third in triples (22) and ninth in home runs. He hit a walk-off home run for the Rebels in the 10th against UCF to help to a series sweep and scored the game-winner against No. 14 Washington last weekend to propel Ole Miss into its fifth NCAA Super Regional in the last nine NCAA Tournament appearances.
Buchanan served in a relief role for the Rebels in the 2014 season, making 12 appearances on the season and turning in eight scoreless outings in that time. He combined for a shutout of Stetson on the road in the opening weekend and helped Ole Miss post wins in nine games in which Buchanan pitched this season.
Greenwood was the fourth Rebel pitcher taken in this year’s draft and has been one of the key reserves out of the bullpen this season. The right-handed senior posted a 2-1 record on the year with four saves through 39.1 innings of work. Greenwood holds a 1.83 ERA and has allowed only 10 walks while striking out 37 batters.
He posted his two wins over UALR and No. 19 Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament. He posted his four saves against Missouri, Arkansas, at Texas A&M and against No. 14 Washington in the NCAA Regional.
Trent made the ninth player drafted and fifth player of the day after posting a 9-0 record on the season and was one of only two pitchers to finish the regular season undefeated alongside teammate Ellis. Trent posted a 6-0 record in SEC play.
The left-handed pitcher picked up wins at Stetson, over Georgia State, Missouri, Auburn, No. 7 LSU, at No. 17 Kentucky, Arkansas, at Texas A&M and No. 14 Washington in the NCAA Regional this past weekend.
–Bill Bunting, Ole Miss sports information