The Pittsburgh Pirates today announced they have selected infielder Will Craig with the 22nd overall selection in the 2016 First-Year Player Draft. The announcement was made by Pirates Director of Scouting Joe DelliCarri.
Craig hit .379 (69-for-182) with 16 doubles, 16 home runs, 66 RBIs, a .520 on-base percentage and .731 slugging percentage in 55 games this season as a junior at Wake Forest University. He also went 2-0 with nine saves and a 3.54 ERA (28.9ip/11er) in 19 relief appearances this season for the Demon Deacons.
The 21-year-old Craig was named one of five finalists for the prestigious 2016 Dick Howser Trophy, which is awarded to the top player in collegiate baseball. He is also a semifinalist for the 2016 Golden Spikes Award, which is awarded to the top amateur baseball player in the United States.
Craig, who ranks third nationally with a .731 slugging percentage and eighth with a .502 on-base percentage, also took home first-team All-American honors this season by both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball.
During his sophomore season with Wake Forest in 2015, Craig led the team in batting average (.382), home runs (13), RBIs (58), runs scored (52), OBP (.496) and slugging percentage (.702) while taking home several accolades, including being named the ACC Player-of-the-Year and a Louisville Slugger First-Team All-American and Baseball America second-team selection.