Texas Longhorns signee Mason Thompson agrees to deal with San Diego Padres

Texas Longhorns baseball signee Mason Thompson will not be enrolling at Texas. According to a report from Ryan Autullo of the American-Statesman, Thompson will be turning pro and signing with the San Diego Padres.

The Padres are giving the Round Rock native a $1.75 million signing bonus, which is an over-slot deal. The value of the 85th overall pick in the third round was $730,400, as Autullo notes, so it is not surprising that he agreed to sign for $1 million more than the slot bonus.

Thompson is one of four Texas baseball commits that were drafted this past weekend, joining 44th overall pick Kyle Muller, fifth-round pick Conner Capel, 22nd-round pick Blair Henley and 28th-round pick David Hamilton. Of those players, only Henley and Hamilton look like strong bets to play for the ‘Horns.

“Something I lived for, something I’ve spent my whole life looking forward to," Thompson told KXAN in Austin about getting drafted. He said that it was tough to forgo playing with the Longhorns.

“I've been a lifetime Longhorn…turning down an opportunity like that would be extremely difficult, but I believe that I’m ready to take that step and become a professional,” Thompson said. “It’s two dreams coming together, it really is. Going and playing at Texas and playing for the San Diego Padres are two dreams of mine that I’ve had and it just turns out that pro ball may have come calling a little sooner than we expected.”

Thompson underwent Tommy John surgery last year and only pitched one inning in 2016, but since he’s 6’7 and can throw in the mid-90s, he was extremely appealing to the San Diego as a high-upside third-round round pick.