Any little league baseball player has the dream of playing major league baseball. For some Oklahoma Sooners, that dream has taken a step closer to becoming reality.

Tuesday marked the beginning of the 2009 MLB Draft, and junior Garrett Richards became OU’s third first-round draft pick in the past six years. Selected with the 42nd overall pick by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Richards was the first Sooner selected.

The right-handed pitcher from Edmond became the 17th Sooner to be selected in the first round since 1967.

Richard’s 2009 campaign included 17 appearances, 15 of which were starts, while leading Oklahoma with nine wins and 85 strikeouts.

Starting pitcher Andrew Doyle was the next to go for the Sooners, when he was selected Wednesday in the fourth round by the Texas Rangers with the 124th overall pick. It marks the second time in Doyle’s career that he has been drafted.

Recording 18 wins in his three years in Norman, the Rock Island, Ill., native finished second on this year’s 2009 team with eight wins, and earned second-team All-Big 12 honors. Doyle ranked second on the 2009 roster, behind Richards, with 65 strikeouts and posted a team-best with 92 innings.

Teammate J.T. Wise didn’t have to wait long for his name to be called shortly after Doyle’s. The Big 12 Player of the Year was selected in the fifth round by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Joining teammates Garrett Richards and Andrew Doyle, Wise’s selection marked the first time Oklahoma had three draftees in the first five rounds since 1985.

Wise, a finalist for the Johnny Bench Award, lead the Big 12 during the regular season with .375 batting average. The Apopka, Fla., native also threw out a Big 12-best 30 potential base stealers this year.

Outfielder Jamie Johnson also took the next step to playing major league baseball when he was taken by the Detroit Tigers with the 210th selection in the seventh round. Johnson was Oklahoma’s lead-off hitter for a majority of the year, and hit .353 for the Sooners with 13 home-runs and 44 RBIs.

Two Sooners were taken with back-to-back picks in the draft’s ninth round. Junior pitcher Chase Anderson was taken 276th by the Arizona Diamondbacks, and junior shortstop Bryant Hernandez was taken with the 277th selection. Hernandez will join teammate J.T. Wise with the L.A. Dodgers.

First baseman Aaron Baker was selected in the 11th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates. The All-Big 12 second team member hit nine homers and drove in 22 runs in Big 12 play.

Senior second baseman Matt Harughty and sophomore Antwonie Hubbard were both selected in the 26th round on Wednesday. Hubbard was selected 785th overall by the Cleveland Indians, and Harughty was taken by the Chicago White Sox with pick No. 793.

At the end of Wednesday’s 30th round, OU has contributed nine players to this year’s draft. This total marks the most players taken since 2006 (9) and trails only two other OU clubs, the 1998 and 1995 Sooners, which both produced 10 draft picks in their respective seasons.

Rounds 31 through 50 begin Thursday.