ARLINGTON, Texas - Former UTA greats Daniel James and Noah Vaughan each made their professional debuts during the week after being selected in the MLB Draft.

A native of Lubbock, Texas, James made his professional debut on Wednesday night with the Arizona Rookie League Royals. James, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound right-handed pitcher worked 1.1 innings, allowing a hit and striking out one.

In his UTA career, James appeared in 85 games, posting 22 saves in 126 innings, walking just 38 and striking out 102. He finished his career with the second-most saves and the sixth-most appearances in UTA history. As a junior, James led the Sun Belt Conference with 13 saves, second-most in single-season annals. James, who was on the 2018 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Watch List, was a 26th round pick by the Kansas City Royals in the 2018 MLB Draft.

Vaughan, a native of Conroe, Texas, has played in two games with the Vermont Lake Monsters in the short-season Class-A New York-Penn League. Vaughan posted a strong career with the Mavs from 2016-18, belting 23 homers in 164 games. Vaughan had 19 doubles, 12 triples, 93 RBI and 21 steals. He belted 14 homers as a junior in 2018, ripping six doubles, six triples and hitting .276. Vaughan was a 12th round pick of the Oakland Athletics following the 2018 season.

THOMPSON PROMOTED TO DOUBLE-A
After posting a 2-1 record and a 1.78 ERA in 22 games in high class-A, UTA great Zach Thompson has been promoted to double-A Birmingham for the first time in his career.

Thompson, a 6-foot-7, 230-pound right-handed pitcher out of Burleson, went 1-0 with a 1.06 ERA over 17 innings in his last 10 appearances with the Carolina Mudcats in the Chicago White Sox system.

A fifth-round pick by the White Sox in the 2014 MLB Draft out of UTA, Thompson has appeared in 108 games with 67 starts in his minor league career. Thompson saw action in three different conferences during his UTA career, posting a 3.83 ERA in 18 games as a freshman in 2012, a 6-5, 5.33 mark as a sophomore in 17 games, and a 4.64 ERA in 16 starts as a junior.

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