Texas Longhorns baseball players and signees ready for MLB Draft

With the annual coming of the MLB Draft brings the questions of whether Texas Longhorns baseball juniors and recruits will take the money and go pro or play ball next year on the Forty Acres. Adding to the usual problems for Texas baseball is the added intrigue of a coach-less squad (just lose, Florida, so we can get moving!).

Baseball is probably the sport hurt least by having players make major decisions during a coaching change, and a decision on the new coach will likely be made before players have to decide whether to sign pro contracts.

Remember that the vast majority of players selected in the top 10 rounds are selected because teams know they'll sign. If players fall out of the top 10 rounds then you can feel better (though not always fully secure!) that a player will play for Texas in 2017.

Texas will lose seniors Travis Duke and Ty Culbreth for certain and seem most likely to lose junior Tres Barrera to the draft. I could also see Kacy Clemens, Zane Gurwitz, Josh Sawyer, Bret Boswell or Morgan Cooper jetting if the money is right. No one would have thought Clemens would be on this list a year ago, but his much-improved play in 2016 may have gotten him into good enough draft position to worry Horns fans.

As to the recruits, the names to keep an eye on are:

OF Conner Capel -- Minor League Ball had Capel as one of the top 30 best outfielders in the draft and Baseball America has him as the 4th best in Texas.

C Jaxx Groshans -- An 80 name, Baseball America has Groshans as the 72nd-best prospect in Texas.

SS/2B David Hamilton -- BA lists Hamilton as the 188th-best prospect in the country and 14th-best in Texas.

RHP Blair Henley -- The 32nd-best prospect in Texas and 392nd in the draft according to BA.

INF Austin McNicholas -- A shortstop at the next level, McNicholas is unranked by BA.

LHP Kyle Muller -- The biggest fish for Texas should probably go toward the end of the first round. BON previously talked to Muller and it seems on the surface that only a contract dispute would bring him to Austin next year.

INF Ryan Reynolds -- A Louisianian whose father played at Texas in 1989. Unranked by BA.

RHP Kevin Roliard -- The 43rd-best prospect in Texas per BA.

RHP Tate Sandford -- Unranked by BA.

INF Andres Sosa -- The 73rd-best prospect in Texas and 392nd in the draft according to BA.

RHP Mason Thompson -- No. 6 prospect in Texas and 105th in the draft per BA.

OF Austin Todd -- Unranked by BA.

Perfect Game lists Texas with the country's 11th-best class, though much of that is reliant on how the MLB Draft fares.