Photo by Jacob Slabosz
The Fighting Illini had two players selected on the second day of the 2023 MLB Draft, right-handed pitchers Jack Wenninger and Riley Gowens.
Jack Wenninger RHP
Wenninger was selected for the All-Big Ten Second Team this past season. The Illini starter spent this summer competing in the MLB Draft League with the Williamsport Crosscutters.
Wenninger went 8-7 in his Illini career with a 5.09 ERA in 31 games, 17 starts, and struck out 109 batters in 122.0 innings of work. Twice, he was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week last season. The first followed a dominant eight inning outing against Michigan, where he only allowed one run on three hits and struck out five. The righty won his second weekly award after throwing a complete-game, one-hit shutout of Ohio State. Additionally, he only allowed one batter to reach and retired the final 21 batters to end the game.
Wenninger led the Illini pitching staff in wins with six. Also, he led the team in innings pitched with 80.1 and 76 strikeouts. Furthermore, he was one of only two Big Ten pitchers to throw a complete-game shutout during the 2023 campaign.
Wenninger was selected in the sixth round by the New York Mets with the 186th pick.
Riley Gowens RHP
Gowens was named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team in 2021. He also spent the summer competing in the MLB Draft League with the Williamsport Crosscutters.
The right-hander kicked off his 2023 season by punching out a career-high eleven batters versus Youngstown State. Furthermore, he had a total of three double-digit strikeout performances during the 2023 campaign.
Gowens started the Fighting Illini’s combined no-hitter versus the Purdue Boilermakers. In the dominant performance, he pitched seven scoreless innings while allowing no hits, with four walks and six strikeouts. Furthermore, the dominating performance earned him the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, National Player of the Week honors.
Gowens was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the ninth round with the 279th pick.
