Tennessee junior outfielder Alerick Soularie was drafted No. 59 overall by the Minnesota Twins in the second round of the 2020 MLB Draft on Thursday night.
Soularie is the second Vol to be drafted in this year’s draft. Left-handed pitcher Garrett Crochet was drafted No. 11 overall by the Chicago White Sox during the first round on Wednesday night.
The Houston, Texas native burst on the scene in 2019 after signing with the Vols out of San Jacinto College as a JUCO prospect. In his first season with the Vols, Soularie started 54 games in the outfield and led the team in batting average (.357), slugging percentage (.602), on base percentage (.466), and runs scored (52). He finished second on the team with 70 hits and hit 11 home runs as he helped the Vols make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005.
Soularie earned All-SEC First Team honors as a result of his performance. He was also named a D1Baseball.com Third Team All-American, earned Rawlings/Perfect Game All-America Honorable Mention, and was named to the ABCA/Rawlings South All-Region Second Team.
The star outfielder entered the 2020 season a D1Baseball.com Preseason First Team All-American, a NCBWA Preseason Second Team All-American, a Baseball America Preseason Second Team All-American, and a Perfect Game Preseason Third Team All-American.
Soularie hit .267 in 16 games before the 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19. He hit five home runs, drove in 17 runs, and hit for a slugging percentage of .533.
The Twins were attracted to Soularie’s bat and decided to select him in the second round because of that. Soularie has quick hands, which leads to an extremely quick bat. He can hit to all fields with power, and even if there are questions surrounding what position he’ll play, his bat will translate to the next level and get him on the field.
Coming out of high school, Soularie was ranked as the 17th overall prospect and No. 6 outfielder in Texas by Perfect Game. Nationally, he was tabbed the 181st overall player and No. 43 outfielder in the nation. He was a three-sport athlete at Atascocita High School, playing baseball, football, and basketball. Soularie was All-State all four years in high school.
