Amarillo College Baseball Makes History with First MLB Draft Selections
Micah Worley arrived in Amarillo during the fall of 2022 as a member of Amarillo College baseball's first recruiting class.
Nearly four years later, he became the Badgers' first professional baseball player.
On July 11, the 6-foot-6 lefty pitcher was selected in the sixth round of the MLB Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Worley ranked second on the 2022-23 Badger pitching staff in the strikeouts per nine innings column (10.88) across 22 1/3 innings as a true freshman before earning all-conference honors with the Stony Brook University baseball program last spring.
At the MLB Draft Combine last month, the southpaw recorded the sixth-highest fastball velocity at 98.2 miles per hour.
AC head coach Brandon Rains gave his perspective on Worley’s potential in his first collegiate season and a potential landing spot down the road with the Amarillo Sod Poodles.
“He was a physical lefty and fared quite well his first year. He developed throughout his spring semester with us, and we’re proud of him for becoming the first Badger draftee,” Rains said. “Hopefully he’ll get the opportunity to play at Hodgetown as a professional with the Sod Poodles. That’d be a great story.”
Puerto Rico native Jatniel McCloud etched his own place in Badger baseball lore on April 12. The 2026 first-team all-conference outfielder was selected in the 18th round by the Miami Marlins, marking the only AC baseball player to be drafted after their freshman season.
“He’s on a short list of incredibly talented players that I’ve been able to coach in my career,” Rains said. “He’s going to go far, and it would not surprise me if he’s in Miami playing for the big club sooner rather than later.”
McCloud arrived at AC with an abundance of potential, having played on Puerto Rico’s 18-and-under national team at 17.
He earned the starting center fielder role and was AC’s leadoff hitter throughout the season.
McCloud set two program records – stolen bases (27) and runs scored (70) in a season – and recorded 10 additional top five all-time marks last spring.
Most notably, he posted the second-highest batting average (.423) in program history and hit 12 home runs, the second-most all-time by a true freshman.
“He demonstrated his skillset against formidable competition and put up great numbers in one of the best conferences in the country. He’s a very projectable athlete to accomplish what he has at such a young age,” Rains noted. “Shining stars are easy to see, and he stood out from the first practice. He was happy to be here and a hard worker.”
McCloud continued the program’s proud Puerto Rican pipeline, which began with Jan Avila during AC’s inaugural season and continued with Gerardo Prado in 2024 and 2025.
Avila went on to play at Rutgers University after spending two seasons with the Badgers, while Prado transferred to this year’s NCAA DI National Champions – the Oklahoma Sooners.
Rains explained how the pipeline was built and how it has continued to flourish through four seasons.
“A lot of it is, once a player from Puerto Rico, or from anywhere else for that matter, has a good experience at Amarillo College, they’re going to tell their friends. Another part is having connections and relationships with players and coaches I’ve met throughout my career," he said. “Our Puerto Rican players have represented our program very well, both in the classroom and on the field, and we hope to continue our connections with the PR baseball community moving forward.”
Story by: Nathan Heuer