COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri baseball coach Steve Bieser used the transfer portal to rebuild his pitching staff and parts of his lineup last summer, but the team’s most important acquisition — and most surprising — came courtesy the MLB draft.
Three days of more than 600 selections came and went last July without one franchise choosing Mizzou third baseman Luke Mann, fresh off a breakthrough power season at a home ballpark known for turning home runs turn into warning track outs.
“It was rather shocking,” Tom Mann, his father, said. “We were getting information where we thought he'd get drafted and drafted high enough that it wouldn't be a question.