ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s starting center fielder returned for one more college season — knowing full well that if not for the coronavirus pandemic that canceled the Wildcats’ 2020 season and cut the year’s MLB draft from 30 rounds to five, he’d be playing pro ball.

“I totally believe that,� Williams told the Star 51 weeks ago. “But things happen. It’s all in God’s plan.�

The Baltimore Orioles showed a different kind of faith Monday, taking the Wildcats’ four-year starter with their fourth-round (106th overall) selection. Williams was projected as the 324th-best prospect heading into this week’s draft by Baseball America; did not rank him among its top 250 draft-eligible players. The Las Vegas native turned heads during his final college season, hitting .342 with eight home runs, 49 RBIs and nine stolen bases. He was a leader on an ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ team that advanced to the College World Series.

reporter Jonathan Mayo said Monday that Williams “maybe profiles as a fourth outfielder when it’s all said and done, but the defensive instincts plus the hit tool make him a good pick in the fourth round.”

Williams was one of four Wildcats taken on the draft’s second day.

The St. Louis Cardinals took right fielder Ryan Holgate No. 70 overall, part of the competitive balance round, while the Washington Nationals selected first baseman Branden Boissiere with their third-round (82nd overall) pick. Williams went one round later to Baltimore, and Gil Luna, a left-handed reliever, was a ninth-round selection of the Chicago White Sox.

UA commit Tyler Whitaker, an outfielder from Las Vegas’ Bishop Gorman High School, was taken by the Houston Astros with their third-round pick — below where many experts believed he would land. ranked Whitaker as the 37th-best player in the draft; he was taken 87th overall, a pick that comes with an estimated slot value of $689,300. Whitaker will now decide whether to attend college — ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ recently hired Detroit Tigers third-base coach Chip Hale to replace the departing Jay Johnson — or take the leap to the pros.

Onetime Wildcats infielder Dayton Dooney, who transferred to Central ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ College and had signed a national letter-of-intent with Tennessee, was taken in the sixth round by the Royals. Florence native Mat Olsen, a right-handed pitcher at Central ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ College, was taken in the ninth round by the Giants.

Chase Silseth, the right-handed ace of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥’s College World Series team, was not taken in the first 10 rounds. ranks Silseth as the 157th-best prospect in this year’s draft. As a draft-eligible junior, Silseth has the option to return to college if he fails to find a professional fit.

Williams earned All-Pac-12 and All-Pac-12 defensive honors in 2021. But it was his improvements at the plate that turned heads. Before the draft, Baseball America wrote that Williams “has become an extremely polished hitter. He takes professional at-bats, with a good feel to hit an advanced understanding of the strike zone. … Williams is a scout favorite, and with his high floor and solid fourth outfielder profile is viewed as a relatively safe pick.�

Holgate becomes the first Wildcat picked by the Cardinals since Alex Mejia and Kurt Heyer in 2012. Holgate played in 63 games in 2021, racking up 86 hits, 56 RBIs, 49 runs scored and 11 home runs over 245 at-bats.

Boissiere, an All-Pac-12 selection, posted a .369 batting average with 94 hits, 63 RBIs and 69 runs scored in 255 at-bats. Boissiere ended the season with a seven-game hitting streak.

Luna made 14 appearances in relief in 2021, going 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA. He did not participate in the NCAA Super Regionals or College World Series after being suspended by the UA’s dean of students office.

Monday’s selections could mean big paydays for all four Cats. Holgate’s pick came with an approximate slot value of $906,800, while Boissiere’s spot is slotted at $744,200 and Williams’ spot at $549,000. Luna, as the 275th overall pick, is slotted to collect $175,000.

The amateur draft concludes Tuesday with Rounds 11-20.