EDITOR’S NOTE: Andrew Oliver eligibility is questionable for the 2009 season as he has a legal case pending in the courts with the NCAA.
The CBB continues our countdown to the 2009 College Baseball season with the Top 50 players to watch in the season. We will be providing one player each day (Monday-Saturday) until we reach number 1. We continue our list today with junior left handed pitcher in Andrew Oliver from Oklahoma State.Oliver had an outstanding career at Vermilion High School in Vermilion Ohio which saw him play four years of varsity baseball. He had a career record of 21-4 including four saves with an ERA of 0.96 while picking up 354 strikeouts. His senior campaign saw him go 6-0 with a 0.40 ERA. The Minnesota Twins ended up selecting him in the 17th round but were never able to come to terms with him which led him to Oklahoma State.
Oliver’s freshman campaign in 2007 saw him pitch in 13 games with 11 starts. He ended up tying for the most wins with Oklahoma State by picking up six wins. He struck out 42 batters in only 44 innings of work. After the season, he spent the summer with the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod League. He had a 1-1 record with an ERA of 1.41 in 45 innings of work. He also picked up 54 strikeouts on the summer too. Baseball America rated Oliver as the 10th best prospect in the CCBL after the season was over.
Oliver continued to develop with the Cowboys during the 2008 season by going 7-2 while having an ERA of 2.20 in 15 games (14 starts) while primarily serving as the number 1 starter. He ended up finishing with 98.1 innings of work while striking out 96 batters but struggled with his control as he walked 36 batters. He was dominate as he held opponents to a .211 average. His season was cut short when he was ruled ineligible before the Stillwater Regional for an inappropriate relationship with an agent. (CBB friend Darren Heitner has been doing an excellent job covering the Andrew Oliver situation and you can check out his coverage by clicking here.)
After his college season rather abruptly, he was invited to be a member of the USA Collegiate National Team where he appeared in four games with a 2-0 record and an ERA of 0.93 in 19.1 innings of work. He was impressive by striking out 24 batters and holding batters to a .159 average. He continued to struggle with a high amount of walks by allowing eleven on the summer.
We believe that Andrew Oliver will continue to develop and become one of the top pitchers in the country in 2009. This is a big question mark with his current situation with the NCAA which still hasn’t reinstated him as of December 22nd.
You can check out our full countdown by clicking here.
