The Bedlam ties of drafting Kyler Murray
Former OSU pitcher was A’s lead scout on OU star
Chris Reilly’s phone buzzed with text messages inside the Oakland Athletics’ draft room after they made the ninth overall pick of last week’s Major League Baseball draft.
“Great move.” “Terrific strategy.” “We’re gonna win Bedlam.” The texts came from fellow Oklahoma State baseball alums celebrating Oakland’s selection of Oklahoma dual-sport star Kyler Murray, a center fielder whose time at quarterback they assumed ended when he was drafted. Reilly, the
A’s’ area scout for Oklahoma and North Texas, didn’t view getting Murray away from football as a goal despite his own rooting interests.
Reilly, 37, pitched for the Cowboys in 2002 after transferring from Seton Hall in his native New Jersey and earned his degree from OSU in 2005. He met his wife, Megan, in Stillwater, and, despite his in-laws’ wishes, has raised his three young daughters, Harper, Stella and Kate, as fans of orange rather than crimson.
Even with Murray — who is expected to sign with the A's on Friday — under center for the Sooners one more season before forgoing his senior year and heading to professional baseball, Reilly is secure in rooting for OSU in this fall’s Bedlam game. For the most part.
“I’ll be the biggest University of Oklahoma offensive line fan you could dream of,” he said.
Murray redshirted the 2016 football season after transferring from Texas A&M and served as Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield’s backup in 2017. Between, he played baseball for the Sooners, and although Murray’s numbers, including a .122 average, did little to impress, his athletic ability did. Reilly, then in his first year with the A’s, recalls seeing Murray reach base on an infield single, steal second and third, and come home on a ground out.
This season, Reilly got his first look at Murray in OU’s home series against Alabama to open March, attending all three games. Murray played in only the first two, going 0-for-8 with two walks, but Reilly saw an improved approach, a better ability to attack breaking pitches and more comfort in the outfield after Murray had been an infielder at Texas’ Allen High School. There, he became the first player to play in both the Under Armour All-America football and baseball games.
“He’s the kind of athlete that you go to watch a game and you can’t take your eyes off him,” Reilly said in a phone interview. “Everything he does just appears easy.”
After Reilly gave Murray a grade so high he warned supervisor Armann Brown it would “set off some alarms” within the organization, Brown came to Norman to watch Murray in OU’s subsequent midweek game against Dallas Baptist. Oakland soon had national cross-checkers and various front-office members visit L. Dale Mitchell Park.
“I could tell by the amount of traffic that was coming in to see Kyler play that we were steering him toward the top,” Reilly said.
Football, though, presented reason for pause. As Murray hit .296 with 10 home runs, 10 steals and a .556 slugging percentage, his intentions for his two-sport talents remained publicly unknown. OU football coach Lincoln Riley and baseball coach Skip Johnson intended to sit down to discuss Murray’s situation but “never got around to it,” Murray told Reilly. Instead, they simply suggested to use caution, especially with his throwing arm, as he balanced the middle of baseball season with spring football.
Reilly needed to know whether Murray was even willing to give up either sport. He felt he had no power to dictate when or which, but when Murray expressed a willingness to relinquish football at some point, Reilly began to sense Murray’s early selection could be a reality.
“When he said it, there was an excitement in his voice that I wasn’t expecting to hear,” Reilly said. “He was excited to talk about baseball. He was excited to talk about a pro career.”
As MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced Murray as Oakland’s pick at No. 9, a member of the A’s’ social media team recorded Reilly watching a TV inside the team’s Oakland Coliseum draft room. Someone in the room shouted “Boomer,” prompting the former Cowboy to smile and chuckle, unable to do anything else on video.
“I had to bite my tongue,” he said.
From there, he clapped and received congratulatory handshakes, honoring the work he had done with Murray and throughout his region. Reilly also scouted DBU’s Jameson Hannah, Oakland’s second selection.
“The stars just aligned and I got lucky,” Reilly said. “So many things have to go right to get a first-round draft pick, let alone the first two picks.”
Reilly struggled to give up the competitive and relational aspects of coaching after 11 years as a pitching coach at Daytona State and the University of Cincinnati, but he has found his two years with Oakland rewarding. A move to Rockwall, Texas, put the Reillys closer to Megan’s family in Tulsa, better allowing Bedlam debates among in-laws. Returning to Allie P. Reynolds Stadium as a scout and being around OSU fans has given Reilly a new appreciation for his time as a Cowboy.
The job is not without its challenges. Reilly’s first day off in about five months came over the weekend; he spent it cleaning his garage.
Soon, the scouting cycle will begin again, putting Reilly back on the road as he tries to find the next Kyler Murray. Until then, he’ll enjoy his downtime and, perhaps, a Bedlam game.
“I hope OSU pulls it out, but I’d love Kyler to come out of it healthy,” Reilly said. “Really my own goal is make sure he gets through the season healthy, so I’ll definitely be watching OU games. As long as they’re not scheduled at the same time OSU is.”