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Ole Miss pitchers Doug Nikhazy and Taylor Broadway selected on Day Two of 2021 MLB Draft

Two of the best to ever do it are on to pro ball.

By Zach Berry
Ole Miss Athletics

Ole Miss baseball pitchers Doug Nikhazy and Taylor Broadway formed one of the best trios in college baseball with first round draft pick Gunnar Hoglund in 2021. On Monday, the one, two starter, closer punch joined Hoglund as they were taken on the second day of the 2021 MLB Draft.

Nikhazy was selected 58th overall in the second round by the Cleveland Indians and Broadway went in the 6th round to the Chicago White Sox, joining former Rebel Lance Lynn on the South Side of the Windy City.

Nikhazy was a unanimous All-American this season, joining only three other former Ole Miss players to earn that distinction. He was also the first pitcher only player in program history to be a two-time All-American.

In 2021, the Florida hurler won a program-best 12 games and struck out 142, eclipsing Will Kline (134 in 2007) and Drew Pomeranz (139 in 2010) to end up second behind Lynn’s record-setting season in 2007 where he struck out 146. In 2021, he also went the distance against the eventual national champions in Starkville, striking out 12 and allowing just one hit. Later in the Oxford Regional, he struck out a career-high 16 against Florida State.

Head coach Mike Bianco calls him the most dominant big game pitcher he’s ever coached in Oxford.

Broadway was damn near just as dominant this season, earning All-American honors while going 4-3 on the mound and boasting a 3.44 earned run average and closing out 16 games, a program record.

In 30 appearances, he struck out 66 batters and only walked nine. The Texas native utilized his free COVID-19 year of eligibility to shatter the record books and finish first in the SEC in saves and second nationally. Once the calendar turned to May, in his 13 appearances he was a part of 11 wins and eight saves, including the Oxford Regional clincher against Southern Miss.

These two are going to be damn near impossible to replace in 2022 and are arguably two of the best ever to toe the rubber at Swayze Field.