University of Tennessee infielder Jeff Moberg was selected by Colorado Rockies in the 30th round (896th overall) of the 2017 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
With his selection, Moberg joins Jordan Rodgers (sixth round — Atlanta), Kyle Serrano (10th round — Houston), Zach Warren (14th round — Philadelphia) and Hunter Martin (20th round – Houston) as Tennessee’s 2017 Major League Draft picks through the first 30 rounds.
Moberg becomes the first Rockies draftee out of Rocky Top since former Vol outfielder John Czarniecki was selected in the 25th round of the June 2003 Draft. He is also the 132nd all-time player drafted out of Tennessee since 1965.
As a redshirt senior in 2017, Moberg hit .311 with 10 doubles, three triples, nine home runs and 33 RBIs over 51 games at second base. He ranked second on the Vols’ squad in batting average and tied for first with nine homers, while his 108 total bases on the year were the most for Tennessee’s offense.
Among his team-leading nine home runs, the California native belted UT’s first homer of the season with a solo blast in the first inning of the Vols’ season opener at Memphis. Later, he would homer in UT’s regular season finale against Missouri with a leadoff homer to left field at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The previous season, Moberg began a then-career best campaign over his first 16 games in 2016, leading the NCAA and SEC with 28 runs scored, 1.75 runs scored per game, and ranking tied for second with nine doubles before suffering a knee injury. His .415 average ranked tied for fourth in the SEC.
Over the course of his five seasons with the Orange and White, Moberg hit at a career .296 clip with 10 homers, 77 runs scored and 124 hits in 133 games (102 starts).
Following the 2016 season, Moberg was one of eight graduating seniors for Tennessee, earning his degree in Sociology – Criminal Justice before pursuing a graduate degree in Agriculture, Leadership, Education and Communication in 2017.
-UT Athletics
