Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Buffett, Cobb And Williams Returning For Senior Seasons
July 18, 2016 | Cowboy Baseball
STILLWATER, Okla. — Of Oklahoma State's program record 11 Major League Baseball Draft picks last June, nine had a decision to make — sign a professional contract or return to Stillwater for a final season with the Cowboys.
Josh Holliday's program received a huge boost when three of those — Tyler Buffett, Trey Cobb and Dustin Williams — chose to return for their senior seasons.
With that trio back in the mix, OSU looks to build on a historic 2016 season where the Cowboys advanced to the College World Series for the 20th time in program history and were one of the final four teams remaining in Omaha.
Holliday, who is entering his fifth season as OSU's head coach, said he is excited the group of juniors felt like OSU was best place for their development, and their return gives the Cowboys some cornerstones to build around, much like a year ago when Conor Costello and Donnie Walton spurned the pros to return for their senior seasons.
"These guys believe in Oklahoma State, they believe in what's going on here both in school and on the field, they trust their coaches and they love the program," Holliday said. "When you have all that positive energy coming back to you, combined with the other returning players and the newcomers, it's a great place to start in terms of building the team chemistry and culture that's necessary to be successful.
"We're excited for the kids that signed and the opportunities they received, and we're excited for the guys that are back because as we saw this previous season, the impact of senior leadership and senior talent can have a huge influence on a team.
"We welcome those guys back with open arms as we root on and cheer for our guys that signed. It's a win-win situation for whatever our kids want. To have these guys back goes a long way to solidify what we'll look like again next year."
Tyler Buffett
Buffett was drafted by the Houston Astros in the seventh round, and his decision to return to school put him in rare company as he was one of only two players selected in the top 10 rounds of the 2016 MLB Draft — from a total of 316 players picked — not to sign.
"I really don't like not finishing something I started, and I feel that way about my career at OSU," Buffett said. "Coming back for that fourth year and finishing up playing for OSU is what I set out to do when I came to school."
Buffett said the importance of returning to school and earning his degree was one of the biggest factors in his decision, and he also received some good advice from former OSU All-American and teammate Michael Freeman.
"(Freeman) told me you have to be 100 percent dedicated to whatever you do," Buffett said. "You really don't want to have any regrets. Hearing stuff like that from him really put some things in perspective for me."
Buffett is coming off a junior season in which he made an OSU-record 37 appearances on the mound and was an All-Big 12 Conference First Team selection. A right-hander, he went 9-3 with nine saves and a 2.81 ERA, including an NCAA Tournament run that saw him go 3-0 with a 0.78 ERA.
Despite his decision to return to OSU, Buffett said being offered a chance to play professional baseball was a rewarding experience.
"I didn't really expect to get drafted at the beginning of the year so when I started playing well and hearing from scouts, that was pretty cool," Buffett said. "But in the back of my mind, I didn't really know if I was going to get drafted or not. So when it actually happened, it was still surprising and very exciting. It was such a new experience, not really any emotion I'd ever felt before."
The emotions of OSU's road to Omaha were also new, and that journey — and the desire to do it once again — was another huge factor in Buffett's return.
"There's a ton of motivation there. Getting (to the CWS) once and seeing what it's all about and seeing where OSU baseball belongs was amazing," Buffett said. "We started off two games really well and then slipped the last two. It seemed like a lot of people were looking at us like we were going to win it. Seeing just how close we were, it was kind of a bittersweet feeling with how we went and did so well and made it to the final four, but at the same time we were three wins away from winning it all. We were just so close. I want to get back there and finish it."
Now Buffett will be one of the cornerstones of a 2017 Cowboy team that will try and do just that. And having Cobb and Williams join him as established senior leaders is rewarding.
"Going into the draft, there was definitely the opportunity that most of our class was going to be gone," Buffett said. "Seeing guys feel the same way I did about wanting to come back and wanting to finish their careers at OSU, that's awesome and makes you feel very proud about your program and what you're trying to accomplish."
Trey Cobb
Trey Cobb was on a bus heading to OSU's NCAA Super Regional game against South Carolina when one of his lifelong dreams came true.
"I was sitting next to Thomas (Hatch) on the bus, and his dad texted him saying I had gotten drafted by the Cubs. That was the first place I saw it, and it was really awesome," Cobb said. "Thomas and I are really close, and I thought maybe I could keep playing with him (Hatch was a third-round pick of the Cubs). And to get drafted by your dream team like that, it's a pretty awesome feeling."
Cobb has been a Chicago Cubs fan his entire life, and the club selected him in the 12th round of last month's draft.
Despite his affinity for the Cubs, Cobb said he evaluated life after baseball in making his decision of whether or not to sign — and his love of the orange-and-black had an even greater pull than that of his favorite pro team.
"It was gonna take a whole lot to get me to not come back to school," Cobb said. "Yeah, the Cubs are my dream team. But as a kid I grew up loving Oklahoma State, and if I can give them another year and possibly help develop younger guys and help us make another run at it, that's what I want to do. There's just something special about growing up rooting for a team in every sport that they compete in. That's what I have at Oklahoma State, and it's one of those things where it would have been really tough to leave and taken a lot to get me to leave…
"If I'm gonna make it to the big leagues, I'm gonna make it to the big leagues — whether it's two years or three years or 10 years. And if I don't, then I'd rather have a degree."
Cobb credits a conversation with former OSU teammate Tyler Nurdin also aiding in his decision. Cobb was draft eligible following his sophomore season in 2015 and contemplated going pro then, but Nurdin — who had once been in a similar situation — offered his perspective.
"I asked (Nurdin), 'Should I go? You could have gone after your sophomore year and been making money and been working towards your dream.' This was after his senior season when he didn't get drafted and was going to work," Cobb said. "He said, 'Man, I wouldn't change anything that's happened these last three years. Despite not pitching like I wanted to and not getting drafted and my baseball career being over, I would have still come back after my sophomore year.'
"Really to see somebody like that who was a leader on our team, who was a high prospect and then kind of lost the prospect side of things but didn't lose the leadership side of things and still found a way to help the team win, for him to say he wouldn't take anything back kind of made my mind up that it was gonna take a lot to get me to not play all four years here."
In Cobb, OSU returns a right-hander who has pitched in 73 career games and is coming off his second consecutive year as an honorable mention All-Big 12 performer. He made 24 appearances as a junior, 12 of those as a starter, and was 4-7 with six saves and a 3.09 ERA. Four of his saves came in the NCAA tourney, where he had a 0.64 ERA in six appearances, and he also racked up 100 strikeouts on the season to become just the 14th pitcher in school history to achieve that feat.
A return to Omaha is also weighing heavily on Cobb's mind.
"You get the taste of how close we were, and you get the feeling of, 'Man, we can get back there!'" Cobb said. "It's really special that we went once, but if we go back-to-back, then nobody in the country would doubt that Oklahoma State baseball is back. If we can get back again and further accelerate funding for a new stadium… it will just absolutely take off.
"Hopefully we can have another great year and play two or three more games than we did this last year and then get I drafted again."
*Random side story: During OSU's NCAA Tournament run, Cobb sported a mustache. These days, that red facial hair is gone.
"I shaved and cleaned everything up," Cobb said. "I kept getting recognized places, and it was so weird. I was in Branson going to the Hollywood Wax Museum, and these kids were like 'Are you Trey Cobb?! I saw your mustache and just wanted to come say hey.' Welp, time to shave!"
Dustin Williams
While Buffett and Cobb will bolster OSU's pitching staff next season, the lineup got a boost when the Big 12 leader in home runs decided to pass on a pro career.
Williams was selected in the 36th round of this year's draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but the first baseman will be back in a Cowboy uniform in 2017.
"The biggest reason is just the atmosphere that this team has had over the last three years. It's been so impactful. The bonds and friendships that I've had with the guys that have come and gone over the last three years — I want another year of that," Williams said. "I don't know if that's necessarily offered in the professional baseball atmosphere so I wanted to have another year of that because I have enjoyed it so much.
"Not only that, working with our coaching staff, they've spent three years with me and know the ins-and-outs of my game and can best prepare me for the future and to help this team win."
Winning, especially in the postseason, was something the slugger from Texas also mentioned as a factor in his return. Williams smashed 14 home runs in 2016 and ranked second on the Cowboys with 42 RBIs, and he's hopeful that he can put up even bigger numbers as a senior and help OSU return to the College World Series.
"As far as a team achievement, that's easily the best one that I've ever had," said Williams of OSU's CWS appearance. "To get there was unbelievable, but we didn't win it and that kind of left a sour taste in a lot of our mouths. We were so close — one more game and we're in the national championship series. That drives me, being that close.
"We had a special team with a lot of guys that are going to be hard to replace. But I'm driven to come back and make one more run at it."
Williams added that watching the Cowboys' 2016 Senior Class on the road to Omaha sparked even more motivation to return to Stillwater.
"I love going to school here and being a part of this university so much so it's the best for me and hearing those guys express how much they joy they had in coming back for their senior year and their last go around at it made the decision really easy for me," Williams said.
Josh Holliday's program received a huge boost when three of those — Tyler Buffett, Trey Cobb and Dustin Williams — chose to return for their senior seasons.
With that trio back in the mix, OSU looks to build on a historic 2016 season where the Cowboys advanced to the College World Series for the 20th time in program history and were one of the final four teams remaining in Omaha.
Holliday, who is entering his fifth season as OSU's head coach, said he is excited the group of juniors felt like OSU was best place for their development, and their return gives the Cowboys some cornerstones to build around, much like a year ago when Conor Costello and Donnie Walton spurned the pros to return for their senior seasons.
"These guys believe in Oklahoma State, they believe in what's going on here both in school and on the field, they trust their coaches and they love the program," Holliday said. "When you have all that positive energy coming back to you, combined with the other returning players and the newcomers, it's a great place to start in terms of building the team chemistry and culture that's necessary to be successful.
"We're excited for the kids that signed and the opportunities they received, and we're excited for the guys that are back because as we saw this previous season, the impact of senior leadership and senior talent can have a huge influence on a team.
"We welcome those guys back with open arms as we root on and cheer for our guys that signed. It's a win-win situation for whatever our kids want. To have these guys back goes a long way to solidify what we'll look like again next year."
Tyler Buffett
Buffett was drafted by the Houston Astros in the seventh round, and his decision to return to school put him in rare company as he was one of only two players selected in the top 10 rounds of the 2016 MLB Draft — from a total of 316 players picked — not to sign.
"I really don't like not finishing something I started, and I feel that way about my career at OSU," Buffett said. "Coming back for that fourth year and finishing up playing for OSU is what I set out to do when I came to school."
Buffett said the importance of returning to school and earning his degree was one of the biggest factors in his decision, and he also received some good advice from former OSU All-American and teammate Michael Freeman.
"(Freeman) told me you have to be 100 percent dedicated to whatever you do," Buffett said. "You really don't want to have any regrets. Hearing stuff like that from him really put some things in perspective for me."
Buffett is coming off a junior season in which he made an OSU-record 37 appearances on the mound and was an All-Big 12 Conference First Team selection. A right-hander, he went 9-3 with nine saves and a 2.81 ERA, including an NCAA Tournament run that saw him go 3-0 with a 0.78 ERA.
Despite his decision to return to OSU, Buffett said being offered a chance to play professional baseball was a rewarding experience.
"I didn't really expect to get drafted at the beginning of the year so when I started playing well and hearing from scouts, that was pretty cool," Buffett said. "But in the back of my mind, I didn't really know if I was going to get drafted or not. So when it actually happened, it was still surprising and very exciting. It was such a new experience, not really any emotion I'd ever felt before."
The emotions of OSU's road to Omaha were also new, and that journey — and the desire to do it once again — was another huge factor in Buffett's return.
"There's a ton of motivation there. Getting (to the CWS) once and seeing what it's all about and seeing where OSU baseball belongs was amazing," Buffett said. "We started off two games really well and then slipped the last two. It seemed like a lot of people were looking at us like we were going to win it. Seeing just how close we were, it was kind of a bittersweet feeling with how we went and did so well and made it to the final four, but at the same time we were three wins away from winning it all. We were just so close. I want to get back there and finish it."
Now Buffett will be one of the cornerstones of a 2017 Cowboy team that will try and do just that. And having Cobb and Williams join him as established senior leaders is rewarding.
"Going into the draft, there was definitely the opportunity that most of our class was going to be gone," Buffett said. "Seeing guys feel the same way I did about wanting to come back and wanting to finish their careers at OSU, that's awesome and makes you feel very proud about your program and what you're trying to accomplish."
Trey Cobb
Trey Cobb was on a bus heading to OSU's NCAA Super Regional game against South Carolina when one of his lifelong dreams came true.
"I was sitting next to Thomas (Hatch) on the bus, and his dad texted him saying I had gotten drafted by the Cubs. That was the first place I saw it, and it was really awesome," Cobb said. "Thomas and I are really close, and I thought maybe I could keep playing with him (Hatch was a third-round pick of the Cubs). And to get drafted by your dream team like that, it's a pretty awesome feeling."
Cobb has been a Chicago Cubs fan his entire life, and the club selected him in the 12th round of last month's draft.
Despite his affinity for the Cubs, Cobb said he evaluated life after baseball in making his decision of whether or not to sign — and his love of the orange-and-black had an even greater pull than that of his favorite pro team.
"It was gonna take a whole lot to get me to not come back to school," Cobb said. "Yeah, the Cubs are my dream team. But as a kid I grew up loving Oklahoma State, and if I can give them another year and possibly help develop younger guys and help us make another run at it, that's what I want to do. There's just something special about growing up rooting for a team in every sport that they compete in. That's what I have at Oklahoma State, and it's one of those things where it would have been really tough to leave and taken a lot to get me to leave…
"If I'm gonna make it to the big leagues, I'm gonna make it to the big leagues — whether it's two years or three years or 10 years. And if I don't, then I'd rather have a degree."
Cobb credits a conversation with former OSU teammate Tyler Nurdin also aiding in his decision. Cobb was draft eligible following his sophomore season in 2015 and contemplated going pro then, but Nurdin — who had once been in a similar situation — offered his perspective.
"I asked (Nurdin), 'Should I go? You could have gone after your sophomore year and been making money and been working towards your dream.' This was after his senior season when he didn't get drafted and was going to work," Cobb said. "He said, 'Man, I wouldn't change anything that's happened these last three years. Despite not pitching like I wanted to and not getting drafted and my baseball career being over, I would have still come back after my sophomore year.'
"Really to see somebody like that who was a leader on our team, who was a high prospect and then kind of lost the prospect side of things but didn't lose the leadership side of things and still found a way to help the team win, for him to say he wouldn't take anything back kind of made my mind up that it was gonna take a lot to get me to not play all four years here."
In Cobb, OSU returns a right-hander who has pitched in 73 career games and is coming off his second consecutive year as an honorable mention All-Big 12 performer. He made 24 appearances as a junior, 12 of those as a starter, and was 4-7 with six saves and a 3.09 ERA. Four of his saves came in the NCAA tourney, where he had a 0.64 ERA in six appearances, and he also racked up 100 strikeouts on the season to become just the 14th pitcher in school history to achieve that feat.
A return to Omaha is also weighing heavily on Cobb's mind.
"You get the taste of how close we were, and you get the feeling of, 'Man, we can get back there!'" Cobb said. "It's really special that we went once, but if we go back-to-back, then nobody in the country would doubt that Oklahoma State baseball is back. If we can get back again and further accelerate funding for a new stadium… it will just absolutely take off.
"Hopefully we can have another great year and play two or three more games than we did this last year and then get I drafted again."
*Random side story: During OSU's NCAA Tournament run, Cobb sported a mustache. These days, that red facial hair is gone.
"I shaved and cleaned everything up," Cobb said. "I kept getting recognized places, and it was so weird. I was in Branson going to the Hollywood Wax Museum, and these kids were like 'Are you Trey Cobb?! I saw your mustache and just wanted to come say hey.' Welp, time to shave!"
Dustin Williams
While Buffett and Cobb will bolster OSU's pitching staff next season, the lineup got a boost when the Big 12 leader in home runs decided to pass on a pro career.
Williams was selected in the 36th round of this year's draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but the first baseman will be back in a Cowboy uniform in 2017.
"The biggest reason is just the atmosphere that this team has had over the last three years. It's been so impactful. The bonds and friendships that I've had with the guys that have come and gone over the last three years — I want another year of that," Williams said. "I don't know if that's necessarily offered in the professional baseball atmosphere so I wanted to have another year of that because I have enjoyed it so much.
"Not only that, working with our coaching staff, they've spent three years with me and know the ins-and-outs of my game and can best prepare me for the future and to help this team win."
Winning, especially in the postseason, was something the slugger from Texas also mentioned as a factor in his return. Williams smashed 14 home runs in 2016 and ranked second on the Cowboys with 42 RBIs, and he's hopeful that he can put up even bigger numbers as a senior and help OSU return to the College World Series.
"As far as a team achievement, that's easily the best one that I've ever had," said Williams of OSU's CWS appearance. "To get there was unbelievable, but we didn't win it and that kind of left a sour taste in a lot of our mouths. We were so close — one more game and we're in the national championship series. That drives me, being that close.
"We had a special team with a lot of guys that are going to be hard to replace. But I'm driven to come back and make one more run at it."
Williams added that watching the Cowboys' 2016 Senior Class on the road to Omaha sparked even more motivation to return to Stillwater.
"I love going to school here and being a part of this university so much so it's the best for me and hearing those guys express how much they joy they had in coming back for their senior year and their last go around at it made the decision really easy for me," Williams said.
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