Hayden Murphy, an Auburn baseball alum and current Lake Oconee Wild Things pitcher, was selected in the 2025 MLB draft on July 14.
The Arizona Diamondbacks drafted the Chula native in the 15th round, as the 453rd pick overall.
Murphy made his debut for the Wild Things on June 13, and was the team’s starting pitcher before being drafted. He concluded his position on the team a month later, after pitching in a road game against the Choccolocco Monsters.
“The whole team was kind of watching the draft,” Lake Oconee Wild Things owner Cory Schachter said. “We were excited for him and where he went, and getting to see messages from him on draft night.”
With the success of Murphy’s career, Schachter said he hopes his story can serve as an example for future players on the team’s roster. He believes that Murphy’s performance was a “good example” for the younger players, and could help them in the future.
“It was a cool experience for them to watch what kind of work ethic he had to get to where he is,” Schachter said. “We hope that every year we can have a player like that in our community, and see what that work ethic is like to get to the next level.”
Murphy played a total of four games for the Wild Things, pitching for a total of 19 innings. During his time with the team, he struck out 24 batters and allowed 14 runs as a starting pitcher.
Wild Things head coach Tony Matos worked with Murphy extensively throughout his relatively short time with the team. Despite the short span, he found that Murphy made a big impact over the weeks.
“We had a chance to talk to him after [his last game] and just thank him for everything,” Matos said. “He’s just a very humble, even-minded guy, and it’s been good to just get to know him over the last few weeks that he’s been with us.”
According to Matos, Murphy intended to transfer to Kennesaw State University for his fourth year of eligibility. Instead, he will forgo his senior year by signing with the Diamondbacks.
The summer baseball games are specifically designed to help expose the talents of participating athletes to scouts at both the university and professional levels. Matos noted that several scouts made appearances during the season for multiple players, including Murphy.
“I especially really noticed [scout appearances] the first time that Hayden came out,” Matos said. “I saw a bunch of KSU people there and Arizona, so that was really cool.”
Despite Murphy’s short stint with Lake Oconee, Matos believes that Murphy improved drastically to address “mechanical issues” in pitching. He also worked on his game when he was not with the team.
“He was going to Fulton County and was doing some work there to fix the mechanical issues, and I really saw the difference from that first start to that last, and you could really see that he was starting to figure it out,” Matos said. “[The issue] was something that he had openly talked to our pitching coach and me about, and he was trying to get back to where he was before.”
Overall, Matos credits Murphy for making it to the MLB and believes that he earned his position “on his own.”
“Hayden getting drafted has nothing to do with me, and has everything to do with his ability and his drive,” Matos said. “It’s just cool to even have a mention and have my hand in that, and for him to be the type of guy who’s so humble and appreciative of it, even just the opportunity just blows my mind.”