University of Georgia Honor Roll students and pitchers Ryan Webb and Ben Harris were selected Monday during day two of the 2021 Major League Baseball Draft.
Webb was picked by the Cleveland Indians in the fourth round (125th overall) while Harris went to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the eighth round (252nd overall).
Webb, a 6-1, 202-pound senior marketing major from Roswell, Ga., made 55 appearances with 18 starts in his four-year Bulldog career. He tallied a 7-9 mark with six saves and a 3.60 ERA. A 2021 preseason first team All-America selection, his senior year was delayed due to illness, and then it ended three weeks before the regular season concluded due to an injury. Webb had moved to a starting role in 2021 and made 11 starts, going 3-4 with a 3.32 ERA. He registered a team-high 82 strikeouts and just 17 walks in 59.2 innings. One of his finest starts in 2021 came at top-ranked Vanderbilt when he struck out a career-high 13 in six innings but got a no decision, leaving the game when it was tied 1-1.
Harris, a 6-1, 195-pound redshirt sophomore business major from Alpharetta, Ga., served as the Bulldog closer in 2021. He made 20 relief appearances and one start, going 4-2 with a 2.33 ERA and three saves. In 38.2 innings, he tallied 66 strikeouts and 28 walks. He held Southeastern Conference opponents to a .106 batting average. His saves came at No. 1 Arkansas as well as versus South Carolina and Auburn. He began his collegiate career at the University of Virginia before joining the Bulldogs in 2020, but he had to sit out that season due to NCAA transfer rules.
Webb becomes the latest Bulldog drafted by the Indians since pitcher Tyler Maloof in the 34th round of the 2011 MLB Draft. Harris is the first Bulldog drafted by the Dodgers since Kyle Farmer in 2013.
Georgia has a string of 48 straight seasons with at least one player signing a professional contract and have had at least one player drafted going back to 1987.
Meanwhile, Georgia sophomore draft-eligible pitcher Jonathan Cannon announced on his Twitter account Monday that he will “be returning to Athens next year.” Projected to go in the top three rounds by multiple outlets, Cannon should anchor the 2022 rotation. He posted a 4-2 mark and 3.98 ERA in 12 starts in 2021. He was rated as high as the No. 68 overall prospect for the 2021 MLB draft by Baseball America.
The 20-round draft concludes Wednesday. Teams will have until Aug. 1 to sign their draft picks.