UCO Athletics
Chris Brannick, Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations
EDMOND – Central Oklahoma pitching standout Dylan Hall will forgo his senior season with the Bronchos after signing a free agent contract with the New York Mets.
A 6-foot-5, 225-pound right-hander from Stafford, Va., Hall wasn’t selected in the five-round Major League Baseball draft last week but was quickly contacted by several teams and opted to sign with the Mets.
Hall’s 2020 season was cut short in mid-March when the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of the spring season. He was 4-1 with a 3.00 earned run average and 45 strikeouts in 30 innings – including a school-record 14 in a complete-game win over Metro State – when play was stopped.
“We’re very excited for Dylan and the opportunity he is going to have with the Mets and professional baseball,” UCO head coach John Martin said. “He has been a big part of our success for the past two years and is one of the best pitchers UCO has ever had, but he’s an even better person.
“He has been a great teammate and we wish him all the luck at the next level.”
It marks the fourth straight year that a UCO pitcher has joined a MLB organization. Holden Capps (2017) and Austin Lambright (2018) were both drafted by the Kansas City Royals, while Spencer Van Scoyoc was picked by the Philadelphia Phillies last year.
Hall could have returned for a second try at his senior season in 2021 after the NCAA granted players of spring sports another season of eligibility, but instead decided to go ahead and pursue his professional dreams.
“It’s a good opportunity,” Hall said in an interview with his hometown newspaper, the Free Lance-Star. “I was really impressed with the support I received from their staff. It seems like a really good fit.
“They (the Mets) do a really good job of developing pitchers. They have a really good track record of their guys getting better, like Jacob deGrom, who has won two Cy Young awards.”
Hall started his collegiate career at Virginia Tech, spending two years there before transferring to UCO. He made 16 starts for the Bronchos as a junior in 2019, going 8-4 with a 3.22 ERA while striking out a school-record 123 batters in earning first-team All-MIAA and All-Central Region honors.
Hall fanned 168 batters in 21 games at Central, finishing fifth on the school’s all-time strikeout list.