Lentz, Parker, Stanback Taken In MLB Draft
June 7, 2006
SEATTLE - Two more University of Washington baseball players, plus one football player, were chosen on the second and final day of the Major League Baseball draft Wednesday.
Pitchers Richie Lentz and Kyle Parker were both taken by big-league organizations, along with quarterback Isaiah Stanback, who has never played baseball at the UW.
Lentz, a third-year sophomore from Woodinville, Wash., was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 19th round (the 583rd overall pick). The right-handed reliever saw limited action this season after recovering from elbow surgery. After having red-shirted the 2005 season due to the injury, he returned midway through the 2006 season and appeared in nine games. In nine innings, he allowed three earned runs on eight hits while striking out 15 and walking none.
Parker, a junior from Yakima's West Valley High, was chosen by the Seattle Mariners in the 24th round, the 711th overall pick. Parker, a righty, spent much of his three seasons at the UW in the starting rotation. In 2006, he went 3-2 with a 6.82 earned run average over 59 innings. Over his career, he was 15-12 with a 5.16 ERA in 225 career innings.
Stanback starred on the baseball team at Garfield High in Seattle, but has never played at Washington. He was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 45th round, the 1342nd overall pick. As a fifth-year senior this coming year, the Orioles will retain his rights until just prior to next year's draft.
"I wasn't really surprised by the selection, but of course it is an honor," said Stanback. "The Orioles contacted me last week and we discussed the possibility that I could be drafted. It is always good to have alternatives, but I won't make any decisions about baseball until after football season is over. (Since graduation is scheduled for Saturday) the upcoming football season is my number one priority. My first love really is baseball, since I played it growing up. I didn't start playing football until 8th grade. My dream is really to play both sports (football and baseball). While I was growing up, I really looked up to guys like Deion Sanders, who were able to succeed at both sports."
Stanback isn't the first UW quarterback drafted as former Husky signalcallers Mark Brunell, Billy Joe Hobert and Marques Tuiasosopo were all drafted at one point or another despite not playing baseball at Washington.
Also a top-notch sprinter in track and field, the Seattle, Wash. native ran a wind-aided 10.46 in the 100-meters but fell just .02 seconds shy of qualifying for the NCAA Championships this spring. His legal 10.48 clocking during the season is the eighth-best in UW track history and he anchored the Huskies' 4x100-meter foursome that posted a 40.07 time that is seventh on the UW all-time list.
On Tuesday, the first day of the draft, three Husky baseball players were taken: junior pitcher Tim Lincecum (1st round, Giants), junior catcher Matt Lane (11th round, Blue Jays) and senior outfielder Zach Clem (11th round, Brewers).
The first 18 rounds were completed on Tuesday and rounds 19 through 50 of the 50-round draft took place on Wednesday. A total of 1,502 players were selected.
