(Rochester, Minn.)—The Rochester Honkers announced today that infielder/right-handed pitcher Kenyon Yovan, and infielder Morgan McCullough and from the Oregon Ducks have signed for the 2017 season.
Yovan is 6-foot-3, 222 lb. freshman from Beaverton, Ore. He was a four-year letterman from Westview High School. As a senior, he was named the Brian T. Meehan Memorial Baseball Player of the Year by The Oregonian and the Player of the Year by USA Today as part of the 2016 All-USA Oregon Baseball team. He was named 2016 Metro League Player of the Year and 6A all-state after finishing the year with an 11-0 record, 0.59 ERA, and 133 strikeouts in 71.2 innings. From the plate, Yovan hit .482 with six home runs, 38 RBIs and 16 doubles. He threw a complete game with nine strikeouts in a state quarterfinal win over West Salem. He also posted a 9-0 record, 1.42 ERA, with 120 strikeouts in 69 innings his junior season, to earn him first-team All-Metro League. As a sophomore, he was named the Metro League Pitcher of the Year with a 0.88 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 56 innings including a no-hitter in the first round of the 2014 Oregon 6A playoffs. Perfect Game named him the best player from Oregon and the 47th best pitcher in his class. He was selected in the 32nd round (957th overall) by the Seattle Mariners in the 2016 MLB Draft.
Yovan earned his first start of the season with Oregon as their designated hitter on Sunday (2/19) in game 2 of a double header versus Fresno State. Yovan went 2-for-3 with a double, three RBIs, three walks and scored two runs. On Monday, he added another hit in Monday’s 3-2 win over Fresno State, but also earned his first save of the season, pitching a scoreless 9th inning. He faced four batters allowing only a hit and striking out a batter to secure Oregon’s second win of the season.
McCullough is a 5-foot-9, 181 lb. freshman from Seattle, Wash. At West Seattle High School, McCullough was a four-year letterman and earned Washington 3A all-state honors in his junior and senior seasons. He was named to the All-Seattle Metro League team all four years of high school. From the plate, he finished three seasons with a batting average over .400 (.525 in his junior year). He batted .411 his senior year with 13 RBI, three home runs, and seven stolen bases. Perfect Game named him the best shortstop from Washington (2nd overall) and the 24th best in the nation at his position. McCullough was selected in the 33rd round (987th overall) by the Seattle Mariners in the 2016 MLB Draft.
In four games this season, McCullough is without a hit (0-14), but has walked five times and scored twice. He has started all four games against Fresno State at second base and spent some time at shortstop in two of them. On Sunday’s 13-1 win, Morgan scored a run and drove another in along with being walked three times.
Oregon (2-2) takes part in the Tony Gwynn Classic in San Diego, Calf. Starting on Friday. They will face UC Irvine, Notre Dame and San Diego.
The Rochester Honkers 24th season begins on Tuesday, May 30th when the team hosts the Mankato Moondogs in their home opener at Mayo Field at 7:05 pm. Season Tickets, ½ Season Plans, Suites and Patios are now available. Call the Rochester Honkers office at 507-289-1170 for more information. The Honkers are also looking for host families for the 2017 season and ask all interested parties to call the business office for more information.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. The 24-year old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 160 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Lucas Duda (NYM). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.
