Brock Rodden turned down a six figure contract with the Oakland Athletics to play another year of college baseball. 

Rodden was drafted by Oakland in the 10th round of the MLB draft on July 18. He received calls from several other MLB Teams — the San Diego Padres, Milwaukee Brewers and the Atlanta Braves. 

He was slotted at No. 304 in the tenth round and was projected to make $151,300 per year with the A’s. 

“It was a pretty crazy hectic couple of days there during the draft,” Rodden said.

Within a month, the junior infielder for the Shockers decided not to sign with the Athletics and return to Wichita State for another season. 

“I just really enjoyed my time here (WSU) and you I know felt like it was the best decision for me and my family at the time so I went with it,” Rodden said.

With Rodden back in the lineup, the Shockers return their best hitter statistically. Last season, the Okaha, Oklahoma native’s batting average was .338. He also scored 51 runs on 73 hits and had an on base percentage of .441.

Part of Rodden’s decision to come back to college baseball also had to do with his confidence in the Shockers program. Rodden transferred from Seminole Community College for his COVID-19 year of his sophomore season. He said as soon as he stepped on campus he felt welcomed and comfortable which made him feel like he could perform well.

He said with his return hopefully he can help the Shockers win more games again and make a postseason run.

“Obviously I want to win more games,” Rodden said. “I would say to put Wichita back on the map. They’ve been a powerhouse in the past for you know many many years running and we kind of fell off a little bit you know.”

Rodden will be eligible to enter the MLB draft again this year.