Last week I shared my thoughts on seven teams that I felt had a stronger than average draft. This week I’m going to look at seven college teams that seemed to have fared very well with how the draft has panned out (the players noted as below all fell further than expected, or they weren’t drafted at all, thus being more likely to attend the colleges they have committed to).

1. Baylor Bears

Baylor’s recruiting class is just fun to look at. You start with an incredible two-way talent in Aaron Miller (11^th round, Rockies), an Aflac All-American from a year ago. Miller could step in as a weekend starter and as the team’s starting first baseman from the moment he steps on campus much like Rice’s Joe Savery or Virginia’s Sean Doolittle. Fellow Aflac All-American Ryan Jenkins (not drafted) could very well join Miller in that weekend rotation. With a quick recovery from Tommy John surgery, righty Shawn Tolleson (not drafted) won’t be far behind, while another two-way talent, Kendall Volz (50^th, D-Backs) may contribute as both a pitcher and as a hitter. Dustin Dickerson (15^th, Nationals) would give the Bears an instant middle of the order slugger for Steve Smith to build his lineup around.

2. Texas Longhorns

It’s impossible to talk about the top recruiting classes from year to year and not include the Texas Longhorns. That of course means expectations are higher. On talent alone, assuming they’re able to land all of the players I am about to list, they would be listed number one on this short list. It starts with the starting pitcher for the Aflac All-American West team, Jordan Walden, who dropped to the 12^th round of the draft (Angels) and could very well be bound for college. The same goes for fellow righty Nathan Karns (10^th, Astros) and a pair of polished lefties drafted by the Red Sox: Carmine Giardina (28^th, Red Sox) and Brandon Belt (11^th). With Drew Stubbs heading to professional baseball, his younger brother Clint Stubbs (49^th, Rangers) seems poised to take over in center providing the same five-tool talents. Michael Demperio (not drafted) and Josh Prince (not drafted) could hold down the middle of the infield as soon as Augie Garrido lets them. The Longhorns already are loaded with young talent despite losing Stubbs and staff ace Kyle McCulloch.

3. North Carolina Tar Heels

The Tar Heels without a doubt will have to rebuild their weekend rotation with both Andrew Miller and Daniel Bard being selected in the first round. Both have been weekend starters since their freshman year. Similar to the Stubbs brothers as listed above, in baseball, the apple never falls far from the tree, and Daniel Bard’s younger brother Jared could assume big brother’s role next spring. Joining him is lefty Matthew Petiton, who may be the suitor for Miller’s spot in the rotation. Drew Poulk seems poised to replace Jay Cox, while Tim Fedroff, Mark Fleury, Rob Catapano and Alex White will add plenty of depth to an already talented team. The biggest thing that makes North Carolina’s class look so good right now is that White is the only player listed that was drafted (14^th, Dodgers).

4. UCLA Bruins

Head Coach Jon Savage has done a very good job putting the Bruins back on the right path after suffering several lean years in a row. While he likely will lose his top two weekend pitchers in David Huff and Hetor Ambriz, he has a nice base of young talent and shows the ability to get key transfers from junior colleges. As for the draft, he looks to land two Aflac All-Americans in talented and electric lefty Gavin Brooks and toolsy outfielder Jeff Rapoport. Gabe Cohen will join Rapoport in the outfield, and like Brooks and Rapoport, was not drafted. Of those drafted among the Bruins’ recruiting class was Charles Brewer, an exciting and wiry young righty that went in the 18^th round to the Angels.

5. Cal State Fullerton Titans

Perennial college baseball powerhouse Cal State Fullerton is always on this list much like the Longhorns are. The Titans’ class may not be as deep on paper, and would be significantly better if Chris Parmelee and/or Chris Tillman had a chance of stepping on campus (as first and second rounders respectively that is incredibly unlikely). However, their class does include several players that I felt should have been taken much higher in the draft on talent alone. Nathan Bridges, who went undrafted (due to his commitment to Fullerton), will likely step in immediately for veteran shortstop Blake Davis. Those are some big shoes to fill, and Tommy Pham (16^th, Cardinals) may have to do the same for second baseman Justin Turner. Outfielder Khris Davis (29^th, Nationals) gives the Titans another bat to potentially look forward to, while Michael Morrison (not drafted) gives them another talented arm.

6. Arizona Wildcats

The Wildcats’ list may not be long (although they do have plenty more recruits than the ones I’m going to list here), but the two names I’m going to mention could be a couple of names people scratch their head and wonder how they ever made it to college in a couple of years. Talented, athletic outfielder Drew Rundle is the first of which, a name I have mentioned a few other times within these columns. The Cubs may take a strong run at signing him as a 14^th round pick, but that may be difficult after breaking the bank on Jeff Samardzija (see below). While the Wildcats offense, and defense, may be on the verge of picking up a valuable playmaker, their pitching staff may have landed an ace in Jason Stoffel (not drafted). Few prep pitchers showed the same natural pitching sense that Stoffel does, despite not enjoying the best of senior seasons statistically.

7. Miami Hurricanes

I have really enjoyed watching the Hurricanes progress this season. They started the year slow, after losing two big names in the first round in last year’s draft: Dynamic slugger Ryan Braun and staff ace Cesar Carrillo. Relying on numerous freshmen, the Hurricanes started to gain momentum as the season wore on, and performed admirably reaching the College World Series. Joining the squad next year could be a pair of very talented middle infielders from the South Florida area: Slick-fielding shortstop Ryan Jackson (not drafted), an Aflac All-American that was arguably the best defensive player available in the draft, and Mark Sobolewski (20^th, Astros). For his defense alone you can plug Jackson in at shortstop the next three years, while Sobolewski may have to move to the outfield given the presence of both Jackson and current second baseman Jemile Weeks. The rest of the lineup, outside of centerfielder Jon Jay, and most, if not all, of the starting pitching should stay intact, as the Hurricanes didn’t take long at all to rebuild.

One more, hit hard

While the talent seemingly on it’s way to the schools listed above is extremely favorable for those schools, the Florida State Seminoles were hit hard by the early draftings of several key recruits, all three of which being Aflac All-Americans. Outfielder/first baseman Cody Johnson and catcher Max Sapp were taken late in the first round while infielder/outfielder Brent Brewer was taken in the middle of round two. While the Seminoles likely always knew they would never end up with all three, they probably didn’t expect to lose all three either. Brewer in particular was seemingly a tougher sign given his dual-sport commitment as an exciting wide receiver prospect, but signed within a few days of being drafted.

College arms sign quickly

In recent years college arms drafted early have taken their sweet time signing their first professional deal. Mike Pelfrey, Phillip Humber, Justin Verlander, Jeff Niemann and Kyle Sleeth are just to name a few of the top pitchers in the past few years that have waited well into the summer months and beyond to sign. It’s not the worse thing in the world for college pitchers to wait to begin their career, usually with a full spring of innings under their belts with really no reason to pile on the workload onto an already taxed arm.

However, this year four of the top five picks have signed, three of which are college pitchers (Greg Reynolds, Brad Lincoln and Brandon Morrow). None of these three pitchers were asking for the moon, and therefore quickly accepted close to slot value, but still it is an interesting trend since they easily could have sat out for more money (and likely gotten it) but instead decided to get a head-start on their professional careers. For that I say good for them.

Cubs go Irish, again

The Cubs selected right-handed pitcher Grant Johnson out of Notre Dame two years ago after they didn’t have a first-round pick. Johnson was coming off of an arm injury and was expected to be asking for greater than slot value knowing his value when healthy would be much greater if he returned, with good health of course, for his senior season. The Cubs, without a first round pick, were able to stretch a little bit and get what they felt to be a first-round player in the second round of the draft.

This year the Cubs went big, this time in the fifth round, by taking two-sport start Jeff Samardzija and quickly signing him to a deal that could be worth as much as $7.25 million dollars if he chooses to make baseball his sole sport. Giving up an All-American football career will be tough to do, as Samardzija is widely considered to be the top wide receiver prospect that will be available for next spring’s NFL draft.

Tyler Colvin’s name surprised a few people when it was announced on draft day, but Colvin’s selection by the Cubs in round one made Samardzija’s signing possible. Now that Clemson has been knocked out of the College World Series, Colvin should be in the fold quickly, and his signing bonus likely will be much lower than the normal slot value for a mid-first round pick.

Back to Samardzija, you just don’t see teams giving into two-sport starts anymore. The last player that I can remember getting a gaudy contract with the ability to play football in college is Roscoe Crosby, and unfortunately for he and the Royals his name seemed to be quickly forgotten. Jeff Francoeur was probably the next-best two-sport star, but even the Braves signed him away from the gridiron. While fans yearn for flashy players like Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders, the sooner Samardzija chooses and focuses on one sport, the odds say the better off he will be.

The thoughts and opinions listed here do not necessarily reflect those of Perfect Game USA. Patrick Ebert is affiliated with both Perfect Game USA and Brewerfan.net, and can be contacted via email at pebert@brewerfan.net.