Next In Line: ORU's Matt Whatley

Tyler Saladino. Jose Trevino. Jeremy Hefner. Chi Chi Gonzalez.

The Oral Roberts baseball program has quite the resume of student-athletes that have made it all the way to the Big Leagues. Matt Whatley wants to be the next name on that list.

The former three-time All-Summit League catcher was drafted by the Texas Rangers with the 104th overall pick in the third round of the 2017 MLB Draft. 

He joined a list of former ORU catchers that were also drafted by the Rangers, including Trevino was picked in the sixth round of the 2014 MLB Draft and was the Rangers' primary catcher in 2020 before an injury cut short an already shortened-season. 

Whatley, who was the highest Summit League baseball draftee since ORU’s Jerry Sullivan was taken 83rd overall in the 2009 draft, ironically grew up idolizing another of the organization's back stops; Hall of Famer Ivan ‘Pudge’ Rodriguez. 

“Pudge was my favorite player growing up,” Whatley said. “So, it’s pretty cool to play for the same team that he did. It’s also been cool to meet him and discuss some baseball stuff with him. I hope I can add to that excellence of catchers that the Rangers have.”

However, Whatley fell in love with the game long before his admiration for Rodriguez started. He began playing at the age of three and remembers his early years being spent watching his parents play slow-pitch softball in his hometown of Claremore, Okla. 

Whatley had quite the success at Claremore High School, leading the Zebras to three District 4-5A Championships and a pair of OSSAA Class 5A Championship game appearances. He was named to the OCA All-State Team and the Tulsa World All-State team his senior season.

Going into his senior season at Claremore, Whatley played travel ball and ORU coaches came to see him play. That was followed by a tour of the campus, which made an immediate impression on the catcher and a close friend that joined him along for the ride.

“My best friend Bryce Howe (former ORU player) took the tour with me and we both felt at home there and it was the best decision I made,” Whatley said. “It was another awesome place to be and I couldn’t be more thankful to grow as a player there as well.”

One of those coaches that went to check out Whatley was Head Coach Ryan Folmar and he saw something special in Whatley. An offer came soon after and Whatley's skills would soon pay dividends for the Golden Eagles.

“We thought when we recruited him, he had a chance to be special,” Folmar said. “He is very athletic and explosive behind the plate and you don’t see that very often at that position. Maybe, more importantly, we knew he had good leadership qualities, had toughness and was a winner.”

Whatley made an impression right away, leading ORU in hitting with a .355 batting average as a freshman in 2015. Those efforts led to him earning Summit League Newcomer of the Year honors and first-team All-Summit League accolades. He also became the 14th Golden Eagle to earn Freshman All-America honors and the first to do so since 2012 when Trevino earned the honor.

His sophomore season was equally as successful. Whatley was named a first-team All-Summit League member behind the plate and earned second-team ABCA/Rawlings All-Midwest Region honors as well as Academic All-League honors.

By the time his junior season began, there were talks of Whatley’s name being brought up as a candidate for the Johnny Bench Award, which is given annually to the nation's top catcher.

“We knew he had a special skill set that had drawn attention nationally,” Folmar said. “The only thing our group was trying to do was go out and compete daily to give ourselves a chance to win. I was proud of the way he responded as he was getting a lot of attention. Instead of focusing on himself, he dove into his leadership role and became a great example of how to be a great teammate.”

Whatley was a great teammate, indeed. He excelled behind the plate once again, recoding a perfect fielding percentage in 507 total chances and threw out 43 percent of base stealers. Whatley earned a spot on the 2017 ABCA/Rawlings All-Midwest Region Second Team and was selected as a finalist for the Rawlings NCAA Division I Golf Glove team.

His defensive efforts behind the dish were also noticed by the voters for that prestigious national honor that only a handful of catchers can say they earned, the Johnny Bench Award, which Whatley humbly received following his stellar campaign in 2017.

“Winning the Johnny Bench Award was huge,” Whatley said. “I noticed the watch list when I was a freshman, and I didn’t really think much of it after that. With all the work I did at ORU and with the coaches and having a great staff of pitchers and a great defense in front of me, that really helped out in me winning the award.”

The Summer of 2020 looked quite different for Whatley and the rest of the minor leaguers after their seasons were cancelled due to COVID-19. Whatley did what he could to remain sharp, recently completing his time at the Rangers' alternate site in Arlington where he worked out every day and scrimmaged against fellow teammates. 

“It’s kind of like we’re in season and kind of not,” Whatley recalled. "It’s almost like we’re in a holding pattern. It’s been really strange with no fans. It felt like we were in Spring Training all year. Hopefully, we can get the fans back and get everything squared away next year.”

One particular fan that has been by his side throughout his continued journey to the top of professional baseball is his wife Brittney,  who is a math teacher at Mingo Valley Christian in Tulsa. The two met while they were at ORU when Matt was a sophomore and Brittney was a freshman.

“We are most proud of Matt for who he is and what he represents,” Folmar said. “He was an outstanding student, the epitome of what it is to be a student-athlete. He has given back to the program in many ways. He is a great representative of our program and our university and his best days are yet to come. Those are things that are important to our coaches after they leave our program.”