Georgia junior pitchers Tony Locey and Tim Elliott along with senior second baseman LJ Talley were selected in day two of the Major League Baseball draft Tuesday.
The St. Louis Cardinals selected Locey in the third round (96thoverall pick); Elliott went in the fourth round to the Seattle Mariners (126thoverall pick); and Talley was drafted in the seventh round by the Toronto Blue Jays (207thoverall). Day two of the draft featured rounds 3-10 and brought the total to four Bulldogs who have been selected. On Monday, junior third baseman Aaron Schunk was a second round pick of the Colorado Rockies.
TONY LOCEY
A 6-3, 235-pound native of Columbus, Ga., Locey led the Bulldogs with an 11-2 record and 2.53 ERA this season. He is the first Bulldog to win 11 games in a season since 1990 when Mike Rebhan (13-5) and Dave Fleming (12-3) headlined the national championship staff. In his Bulldog career, Locey is 20-8 with a 3.92 ERA in 59 appearances including 28 starts. He has tallied 194 strikeouts in 186 innings. Locey was a semifinalist for 2019 National Pitcher of the Year by the College Baseball Foundation.
In 2019, Locey started 15 games and registered 97 strikeouts in 89 innings in helping Georgia go 46-17. He held opponents to a .168 batting average. The Bulldogs earned a National No. 4 seed for the NCAA Championships and advanced to the NCAA Athens Regional Final. Locey was part of a staff that set school records for most strikeouts (601) and lowest opponent’s batting average (.200) plus posted the second best ERA in school history at 3.24 and the second fewest runs allowed (235). Twice, he earned Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Week honors including combining on a one-hitter in a series-clinching win over No. 5 Vanderbilt.
Locey is the first Bulldog drafted by the Cardinals since pitcher Mitchell Boggs in 2005. Boggs helped St. Louis win a World Series in 2011.
TIM ELLIOTT
A 6-1, 200-pound native of Loganville, Ga., Elliott went 7-3 with a 2.38 ERA in 14 starts. He registered 72 strikeouts and just 24 walks in 75.2 innings. In his Bulldog career, Elliott is 9-3 with a 3.10 ERA in 41 appearances including 18 starts. He has tallied 99 strikeouts in 110.1 innings. After pitching just 34.2 innings in his first two seasons with the Bulldogs. Elliott enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2019. Also, he is a three-time member of the Academic All-Southeastern Conference Team. He is on the ballot for Academic All-American as voted on by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Elliott provided one of the best postseason performances in school history this past Sunday when he tossed a complete game two-hit shutout to beat Florida Atlantic in an elimination game. It was his first career complete game and just the third NCAA postseason shutout in Bulldog history, joining Dave Fleming (1990 College World Series, 3-0 over Miss. State) and Nick Montgomery (2008 NCAA Regional elimination game, 8-0 over Ga. Tech). For his effort, he landed a spot on the NCAA Athens Regional All-Tournament team.
The Bulldogs earned a National No. 4 seed for the 2019 NCAA Championships and advanced to the NCAA Athens Regional Final. Elliott was part of a staff that set school records for most strikeouts (601) and lowest opponent’s batting average (.200) plus posted the second best ERA in school history at 3.24 and the second fewest runs allowed (235). Twice, he earned Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Week honors including combining on a one-hitter in a series-clinching win over No. 5 Vanderbilt.
Elliott is the first Bulldog drafted by the Mariners since 2018 when outfielder Keegan McGovern was taken in the ninth round.
LJ TALLEY
A 6-2, 203-pound left-handed hitter out of Folkston, Ga., Talley posted his best offensive year by hitting .332 with eight home runs and 41 RBI in 63 starts to earn Second Team All-Southeastern Conference honors.
In his Bulldog career, Talley played in 221 games including 199 starts. He posted a .280 career batting average with 17 home runs and 108 RBI. He had a career .977 fielding percentage at second base including a school record .989 mark as a freshman in 2016. This past season, he served as a co-captain and was named to the SEC All-Defensive team. He is a four-year member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
The Bulldogs earned a National No. 4 seed for the 2019 NCAA Championships and advanced to the NCAA Athens Regional Final, finishing with a 46-17 record.
Talley is the first Bulldog drafted by the Blue Jays since 1985 when they selected outfielder Kerry St. Clair in the 24thround.
The Bulldogs have a string of 46 straight seasons with at least one player signing a professional contract. In 2018, three Bulldogs were drafted and a total of four began their professional career. The 2019 MLB Draft wraps up Wednesday with rounds 11-40 starting at noon ET. Fans can follow the draft on MLB.com.
Georgia Bulldogs In the 2019 MLB Draft
2nd Round: Aaron Schunk, 3B, Colorado Rockies (62nd overall)
3rd Round: Tony Locey, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals (96th overall)
4thRound: Tim Elliott, RHP, Seattle Mariners (126th overall)
7thRound: LJ Talley, 2B, Toronto Blue Jays (207th overall)