Tygart among three Diamond Hog players and signees selected on MLB Draft’s final day

BY DUDLEY E. DAWSON

FAYETTEVILLE – The third and final day of the 2024 Major League Draft had only a trio of Arkansas players or recruits being chosen to run the event’s total to 10 – eight current Razorbacks and two recruits.

The first was Arkansas outfield signee Eli Lovich of Blue Valley (Kan.) West, a high school standout who was taken Tuesday by the Chicago Cubs in the 11th round with the 332nd overall pick.

Current Razorback pitcher Jake Faherty was selected two picks later by the Miami Marlins.

The Boston Red Sox chose Arkansas pitcher Brady Tygart in the 12th round as the draft’s 357th selection.

The draft finished up today on Tuesday with rounds 11-20.

Arkansas ace pitcher and No. 5 overall pick Hagen Smith (Chicago White Sox) was the first off the board from head coach Dave Van Horn’s squad Sunday night.

Razorback shortstop signee Tyson Lewis of Omaha (Neb.) Millard West was also selected Sunday in the second round and 51st overall by Cincinnati while Arkansas second baseman Peyton Stovall was taken by the Reds in the fourth round on Monday.

“It’s going to mean the world to me,” Stovall told the Shreveport-Bossier Advocate. “I’ve grown up my whole entire life wanting to be a professional baseball player. I’ve worked so hard for that ever since I could walk.

“At the same time, when you sign that contract, that’s when the real work starts. Just when you think you’re getting to the finish line, it’s just starting again. You have to keep having that same drive and that same mentality of, ‘Nobody’s going to outwork you.’”

Other Arkansas players drafted included pitcher and 7th-round selection Mason Molina (Milwaukee) and a trio of ninth-round choices in third baseman Jared Sprague-Lott (Oakland), catcher Hudson White (Boston) and first baseman Ben McLaughlin (Arizona).

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Lovich (6-4, 180) hit .414 with 5 home runs, 36 RBIs, 8 doubles, 6 triples, 37 runs scored, 15 walks and 15 stolen bases his senior season while being named the Kansas prep player of the Year.

Lovich is the younger brothers of former Razorback outfielder Ross Lovich, a Missouri transfer who played in 34 Arkansas games this season while hitting .286 with 2 homers and 16 RBIs in his final college campaign.

Eli Lovich’s other older brother is Missouri first baseman Jackson Lovich.

Faherty was 0-1 with a 1.84 ERA last season while 26 batters in 14 2/3 innings and only allowing 8 hits and 3 earned runs while walking nine.

He made only one appearance as both a freshman and one as a sophomore with those two games totaling one inning.

Tygart was a weekend starter for the Razorbacks this season while going 4-3 with a 3.94 ERA in 14 appearances, 13 of which were starts.

His 59 1/3 innings on the mound was second to only Smith’s team-high 84 this season.

Tygart fanned 69, walked 36, allowed 46 hits and 26 earned runs as a junior.

He is 10-8 with 9 saves and a 3.75 ERA in 48 appearances as a Razorback with 19 of them being starts.

Tygart, who was a Freshman All-American after recording 8 saves, has fanned 151 batters and walked 65 in 122 1/3 career innings of work.

Photo by John D. James

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