Irvin Opts Not To Sign, Will Return To Ducks For 2016
By Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
Even as the Major League Baseball draft approached last month, UO head coach George Horton couldn’t help but look ahead to what might be for the 2016 season.
One of his weekend starters two of the last three years, Cole Irvin, was draft eligible. But Horton was hopeful Irvin would return, to lead “what might be the most special rotation I’ve ever had,” along with fellow left-handers David Peterson and Matt Krook.
Horton will get his wish. This week, Irvin opted to pass up the chance to begin his pro career after being drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 32nd round a month ago. He’ll return to Oregon as a redshirt junior in 2016, and plans to complete work toward his undergraduate degree before again testing the draft waters next summer.
Irvin made up his mind earlier this week, though his decision didn't become official until Friday's 2 p.m. PT deadline to sign passed.
“There were so many things you could look forward to, pursuing your dream,” said Irvin, who might have begun his pro career with former UO teammate and fellow Pirates draftee Mitchell Tolman. “But ultimately I was OK with coming back and trying to win a national championship. That’s important to me. I chose Oregon for that fact.
“I want to be with the first team that goes to Omaha. It’s only a matter of time until we break down the door, and it’s my strong belief that can happen next year.”
Fielding a pitching staff headlined by Irvin will be a great start for the 2016 Ducks. He went 12-3 with a 2.48 ERA as a freshman in 2013, then missed the 2014 season before being eased back into full-time duty over the course of this past season.
Peterson went 4-6 with a 4.39 and 81/31 ratio of strikeouts to walks as a freshman, and Krook flashed electric stuff as a freshman in 2014 before missing this past season. He’s building up his arm this summer in the Cape Cod League, and projected closer Stephen Nogosek spent the summer posting a 1.69 ERA with USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team.
“It’s just going to be a heck of a pitching staff, with the guys coming in (as recruits) as well,” Irvin said. “I couldn’t be more excited to be pitching with these guys.”
Though Irvin’s rehab from injury over the course of the last year hurt his draft stock, “the decision was there” to leave school and sign with the Pirates, he said.
“There was an offer on the table that led to a few discussions with my family, and close friends that I listen to and trust,” Irvin said. “But ultimately we weighed all the factors and felt returning to school, having a college degree and then signing – with another year of leverage (because he’d be eligible to return to school again for 2017) – would be in my best interest.”
A sociology major, Irvin said he’ll be able to finish his undergraduate degree by the end of next season.
“There’s just a lot of excitement in that department for me,” he said. “My school is something I’ve always wanted to get done.”
