In the 12th round of the 2011 MLB Draft on Tuesday, the Detroit Tigers selected former MSU first baseman Jeff Holm as the team’s 11th draft pick.
As Big Ten’s Player of the Year, Holm helped lead the Spartans to their first Big Ten championship since 1979 with his .376 batting average for the 2011 season. He also led the team with nine home runs and topped the Big Ten with 61 RBIs. Additionally, Holm recorded 10 game-winning RBIs for the Spartans this season.
While being named Big Ten Player of the Week twice during his final MSU season, he earned National Player of the Week honors on May 9 after the Spartans swept Purdue with Holm’s three home runs, nine RBIs and a .538 batting average.
Along with earning All-Big Ten first-team honors, Holm was named to the Louisville Slugger All-America Third Team.
Continuing to represent MSU, former pitcher Kurt Wunderlich was drafted in the 20th round by the Oakland Athletics. Wunderlich was named the Big Ten’s Pitcher of the Year and is the first Spartan to earn the award.
He finished the season with a 3.19 ERA and a 10-2 record, and in the 2011 season, he was named Big Ten Pitcher of the week twice.
In his last career start at McLane Baseball Stadium, Wunderlich pitched a complete game in MSU’s 3-0 win over Northwestern to help the Spartans clinch their conference championship.
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