OCU Athletics
Rich Tortorelli, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University’s Miguel Figueroa and Lane Milligan have been picked in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
The Boston Red Sox chose Milligan in the 17th round with the 520th selection, and the Houston Astros took Figueroa in the 24th round with the 732nd pick.
Oklahoma City boasts of 75 draftees taken in the MLB Draft and 159 alumni who have turned professional. OCU has racked up 1,387 wins since 1991 to lead college baseball in that span.
Milligan, a senior catcher-outfielder from Binger, Okla., produced a .462 batting average, 15 home runs and 90 RBIs for the Stars. He established the NAIA single-season record with 15 triples and paced the NAIA in RBIs, triples, hits (103) and 0.25 triples per game this year. Milligan ranked second in total bases (188), RBIs per game (1.53) and total bases per game (3.19), third in hits a contest (1.75), fourth in batting average and slugging percentage (.843) and seventh in runs scored (72).
Milligan’s record-breaking 15th triple came vs. Central Methodist (Mo.) on May 15 in the NAIA Championship Opening Round Oklahoma City Bracket, surpassing the previous NAIA mark of 14 by Ricky McMullen from William Carey (Miss.) from 1978. Milligan beat OCU’s record with his 11th vs. Tabor (Kan.) on April 10 at Jim Wade Stadium, topping Jeff Maack’s 10 hit in 1987 and ’88. Milligan’s season bests include five hits vs. Bellevue (Neb.) on Feb. 8, two homers each at Texas Wesleyan on April 19 and vs. Tabor (Kan.) on April 24 and six RBIs against Tabor on April 10.
Milligan became a first-team all-Sooner Athletic Conference honoree, an SAC gold glove performer and two-time SAC player of the week in 2018. Milligan had a .441 average, 20 doubles, 19 triples, 20 homers, 116 RBIs, 115 runs scored, 156 hits and 10 steals in his OCU career.
Figueroa, a junior right-handed pitcher from Tucson, Ariz., delivered a 3-2 record, 4.50 earned run average, two saves and 48 strikeouts in 38 innings pitched for the Stars. Figueroa helped OCU advance to the SAC Tournament title game by throwing 3.2 perfect innings with two strikeouts on May 6 vs. Southwestern Christian. He also fanned three in three innings of one-hit ball vs. USAO on April 5 at Jim Wade Stadium.
The Stars (51-10) reached the NAIA World Series and 50 victories for the second year in a row. Oklahoma City has made 16 NAIA World Series appearances with 15 50-win seasons in program history. OCU captured the NAIA Championship Opening Round Oklahoma City Bracket and shared the Sooner Athletic Conference regular-season championship this year.