2015 MLB Draft: Florida leads SEC with nine picks, nine Gators signees drafted

As Day 3 of the 2015 MLB Draft began, six Florida players had been drafted, but only three Gators signees had been selected. By day's end on Wednesday, those groups' tallies were equal, at nine.

Florida pitchers Bobby Poyner, Mike Vinson, and Aaron Rhodes were all drafted on Wednesday, and six Florida signees came off the board as well, three of them in a span of 15 picks in the draft's 39th round.

Poyner, who has had a stellar senior season as a reliever and spot starter, was the first of the Florida roster's Day 3 picks, going to the Boston Red Sox in the 14th round. When he signs with the team, he'll become the third Florida pitcher in the last four years to join the Red Sox, who drafted Florida's Brian Johnson in 2012 and Karsten Whitson in 2014.

Vinson, a little-used reliever who has made just seven appearances in 2015 and is unlikely to toe the rubber at the College World Series, was taken in the 24th round by the Detroit Tigers.

Rhodes, who has moved around Florida's bullpen in his three years in Gainesville, and participated in Senior Day ceremonies despite being a redshirt junior, was selected by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the 28th round.

Poyner's out of eligibility and obviously gone, but Rhodes technically still has a year left to play if he wants to use it. And Rhodes and Vinson could improve their draft stock with a strong senior season — Poyner, who went undrafted in 2014, is proof. I expect them both to stick around, with Vinson more likely to do so than Rhodes.

Florida's nine roster players picked leads the SEC for 2015, and brings the school to an incredible 61 picks over the eight years of Kevin O'Sullivan's time in Gainesville. Florida has had nine or more players picked in four of the eight MLB Drafts for which O'Sullivan has been the team's skipper.

Florida will be able to reload no matter what players from its roster go pro, however, thanks in large part to recruiting triumphs like keeping most of its 2015 class together. Of the six Florida signees taken on Wednesday, only pitcher Michael Zimmerman, nabbed by the Colorado Rockies in the 11th round, went before the 26th round, and so he's the only one who should entertain even a passing thought of going pro. The other five drafted Gators signees should all enroll at Florida.

Here are the requisite tables.

Florida Gators in the 2015 MLB Draft

Florida Gators Signees in the 2015 MLB Draft