Texas Longhorns Baseball Players Tres Barrera and Ty Culbreth drafted in MLB Draft

Texas Baseball junior catcher Tres Barrera (sixth round, Washington Nationals) and senior lefthander Ty Culbreth (eighth round, Colorado Rockies) have been selected on day two of the 2016 Major League Baseball Draft.

With his selection, Barrera became the first Longhorn taken in this year’s draft. In his three seasons at Texas, the Eagle Pass native has been incredibly consistent. This season, Barrera produced a final line of .289/.379/.455 while mashing 17 doubles and six homers and driving in a team-high 37 RBI. The junior started in all 57 games for the Longhorns and made starts at five different positions—catcher (31), third base (14), designated hitter (8), first base (3) and second base (1). In his career, Barrera has amassed 20 homers, 38 doubles, six triples while amassing 106 RBI.

Barrera is the first catcher taken out of Texas since Kevin Lusson in 2013 (45th round, Tampa Bay Rays) and first Longhorns catcher in the top 10 rounds since Cameron Rupp in 2011 (third round, Philadelphia Phillies).

Culbreth had a breakout year for the Longhorns in 2016. The Bryan native was named to the All-Big 12 Conference second team after going 8-4 with a 3.74 ERA in a career-high 86.2 innings pitched. He also notched a career-high 78 strikeouts in 16 appearances (15 starts) and finished with a 4.58 strikeout-to-walk ratio on year. Culbreth finished his Longhorns career with a 14-9 record and a 3.47 ERA (66-ER, 171.1-IP) and collected four saves in his four seasons. He graduated from Texas in May with a degree in physical culture and sports with a minor in business.

While Barrera and Culbreth are the first Longhorns taken this year, they join several Texas Baseball signees: LHP Kyle Muller (second round, Atlanta Braves), RHP Mason Thompson (third round, San Diego Padres) and OF Conner Capel (fifth round, Cleveland Indians).