Friday, April 26, 2024
MAJOR LEAGUE DRAFT: Matthew Hickey has a great season for Tarleton State and the 2017 Granbury High School Graduate is now a St. Louis Cardinal.
Granbury's Matthew Hickey is Tarleton State University's first-ever Major League Baseball draftee as a Division I program after being selected by the St. Louis Cardinals Tuesday afternoon in Los Angeles.
The Cardinals picked the 2017 Granbury High School graduate in the 15th round with the 457th overall pick.
Hickey made 21 appearances and threw 32.0 innings this season – his first and final in Stephenville. The right-hander finished the 2022 campaign with a 2-2 record and five saves. His 1.38 WHIP ranked second on the team, and he posted a 40/7 strikeout to walk ratio.
"We are excited for Matthew and his family," Texans head coach baseball coach Aaron Meade. said. "This is a great opportunity for him, and we wish him the best of luck. You couldn't ask for a better organization to take a chance on you. The Cardinals develop pitchers as well as anyone."
Hickey began the season pitching primarily in relief and serving as Tarleton's closer, racking up three saves in consecutive appearances early in the season.
As the spring wore on, he was called upon by Meade to make a few extended outings. Hickey made his two longest appearances in the back-to-back series. He fired 5.1 innings, punched out five, and allowed just one run vs. Sam Houston on April 23. Hickey then made his lone start of the season at UTRGV on May 1, where he threw 4.2 innings and struck out a season-high seven batters.
Before his time at Tarleton State, Hickey played for Weatherford College, where he had an 8-4 record with 10 saves. The first-team all-conference reliever finished the 2020-21 season with a 1.19 ERA.
The most recent Tarleton baseball player to be selected in the MLB Draft was Ryan Turner in 2011 by the Tampa Bay Rays. Hickey is the eighth Texan in the program's history in the major league draft.
Hickey letter all four years under Granbury High School coach Brad Eppler and earned two first-team all-district awards.
The son of Bill and Melinda Hickey, he has four siblings, Bryan, Nathan, Brayden and Kadi.
