Razorbacks’ Knight taken in third round by Baltimore

FAYETTEVILLE — Baltimore selected Arkansas right-hander Blaine Knight in the third round of the Major League Baseball Draft on Tuesday.

The lanky junior from Bryant was the 87th pick of the draft. Most feel Knight will sign before the July 6 deadline and forego his final year with the Razorbacks.

Knight is the only pitcher in Division I baseball with an 11-0 record this season, and he was solid again in the NCAA Fayetteville Regional in a 10-2 win against Oral Roberts last Friday.

Knight went eight innings, matching a career high, allowed three hits, two earned runs and walked one.

It marked his eighth start this season of six-plus innings pitched and one walk or less.

Prior to the Fayetteville regional, Knight earned All-America honors from Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball, and became the 42nd All-American in program history, living up to his preseason All-America honors.

Knight was projected to be a high-round selection last June as a draft-eligible sophomore, but fell to the 29th round because of a high asking price for a signing bonus.

Last year’s draft didn’t begin until after the Razorbacks lost their regional championship game against Missouri State at Baum Stadium.

Knight, who started a loss to Missouri State that sent Arkansas into the loser’s bracket two days earlier, asked to pitch out of the bullpen that night, thinking it would be his final college game at home.

Since announcing his return to Arkansas, Knight’s draft stock soared while getting the upper hand in a number of pitching matchups with other projected high draft choices, including Auburn’s Casey Mize, who was chosen as the No. 1 pick in the draft by the Detroit Tigers.

He also secured wins in matchups against Florida’s Brady Singer and Jackson Kowar as well as Ole Miss’ Ryan Rollison. Knight holds a 2.74 ERA in 16 starts this season and has a 4-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio while holding opponents to a .224 average against.

Knight is expected to make at least one more start in his Arkansas career as the Razorbacks open super regional play against South Carolina this weekend at Baum Stadium.