Arizona baseball commit Drew Sommers signs with Rays

Arizona’s incoming recruiting class is officially short one key addition.

Left-handed pitcher Drew Sommers, a junior college transfer from Central Arizona College, has signed with the Tampa Bay Rays after they took him in the 11th round of the 2022 MLB Draft on Tuesday.

Sommers signed for $150,000, getting more than the $125,000 teams can sign picks from the 11th to 20th rounds without it counting toward a club’s bonus pool.

The lefty had a big year for Central, which won the NCAA national title in June. He was 3-2 with a 2.04 ERA with four saves in 23 appearances, recording 92 strikeouts in 53 innings.

Arizona only returns one left-handed pitcher who contributed heavily in 2022, rising sophomore Eric Orloff. Garrett Irvin and Holden Christian graduated, while Javyn Pimental transferred to Missouri along with righty Chandler Murphy.

The UA has one other lefty pitcher in its incoming class, Pima College transfer Brandon Zastrow. Its two additions so far from the NCAA transfer portal are righties, Derek Drees (Butler) and Cam Walty (Nevada).

Sommers was one of three UA commits who were drafted. The others, Nogales (Ariz.) High School shortstop Demetrio Crisantes (7th round to the Arizona Diamondbacks) and College of Southern Nevada righty Kris Bow (14th round to the New York Yankees), have until Aug. 1 to sign.