Barrera, Culbreth chosen in Major League Baseball draft
By Steve Lansdale
AUSTIN, Texas — A day after Texas baseball recruit Kyle Muller was drafted by the Atlanta Braves, two current Longhorns were selected in the Major League Baseball draft when catcher Tres Barrera was selected in the sixth round by the Washington Nationals and pitcher Ty Culbreth was chosen two rounds later by the Colorado Rockies.
Barrera hit .289 in his junior season at UT, leading the Longhorns with 17 doubles and 37 runs batted in, and tying for the team lead with six home runs. He started all 57 games this season at five positions: catcher (31 games), third base (14), designated hitter (8), first base (3) and second base (1). In his three seasons in Austin, he hit 20 home runs, 30 doubles, six triples and drove in 106 runs.
Culbreth earned second-team All-Big 12 honors after posting a record of 8-4 with an earned run average of 3.74. He pitched 86.2 innings in 16 appearances — 15 of which were starts — and piled up 4.58 strikeouts for each walk allowed. He finished his career at UT with a record of 14-9 and an ERA of 3.47.
In addition to Muller, two other Texas recruits were drafted on the second day of the draft: right-handed pitcher Mason Thompson was selected in the third round by the San Diego Padres, while the Cleveland Indians grabbed outfielder Conner Capel in the fifth round.
