Photo by Under Armour Baseball

 Two of the top high school baseball players in the country are looking ahead to their future at Arkansas after both fell to the late rounds of the MLB amateur draft last week.

Outfielder Cole Turney and pitcher/shortstop Bryce Bonnin confirmed to WholeHogSports their plans to play for the Razorbacks next season. Bonnin was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 26th round and Turney was a 34th-round selection of the Cleveland Indians last Wednesday.

Both communicated with teams during the draft, but both had high, undisclosed asking prices for a signing bonus which caused them to fall to the draft's final day. Baseball America rated Bonnin the No. 74 prospect in the draft and Turney No. 129.

Bonnin soared up draft boards in the weeks prior to the draft. In his first full season as a pitcher, the right-hander's fastball was clocked at 97 mph as a senior at Barbers Hill High School east of Houston, and he also throws a slider, splitter and changeup.

"I was getting calls from just about every team trying to work a deal, trying to get to what I was asking for," Bonnin said. "...I had offers from the second round all the way to the end of the draft. People were calling, saying, 'What can we do to get you here?' The situation didn't feel right, so I stayed firm to what I was asking and wasn't going to give in to an offer that I thought wasn't worth skipping Arkansas.

"I'm excited to be at Arkansas this fall."

Turney, who played at Fort Bend Travis High School southwest of Houston, is considered one of the top hitters in Texas and was a standout at the 2016 Under Armour All-America Game in Chicago. He said he was "almost 100 percent sure" he would not be drafted high enough to skip college.

"I had a lot of information coming into (the draft), so I knew that chances were I was coming to school," Turney said.

Bonnin and Turney did not play each other in high school, but became friends through the recruiting process. They plan to room with each other in Fayetteville and both must wait three years until they are draft-eligible again.

"We both feel we made the decision going to school first," Bonnin said. "I believe these are going to be the best three years of our lives and not many people get to experience what we're going to get to."

Bonnin and Turney will headline an Arkansas signing class that is sure to be near the top nationally when post-draft recruiting rankings are released later this summer. The Razorbacks have lost three signees - left-handed pitchers Daniel Tillo and Dakota Bennett, and outfielder Canaan Smith - to MLB contracts this month, but could keep as many as five players who were ranked among Baseball America's top 500 draft prospects.

Right-handed pitcher Jackson Rutledge of St. Louis was undrafted, as was left-handed pitcher Hunter Milligan of Greenbrier. Denver area catcher Casey Opitz was drafted by the Indians in the 27th round and has not publicly indicated whether he intends to sign.

Drafted players have until July 7 to sign professional contracts and can play for their college team if they do not sign wth an agent.

The incoming signees will join an abnormally large group of returning players next season at Arkansas, which is coming off a 45-19 season in which it hosted an NCAA regional. The Razorbacks could return as many as seven starting position players and are expected to return weekend starter Blaine Knight, who fell to the Texas Rangers in the 29th round after being projected as one of the draft's top 90 prospects.

"That's very exciting," Turney said of the Razorbacks' potential in 2018. "I've been talking to some of the recruits about it. They had an amazing team this year...and now we get to build on that.

"Hopefully we can bring home a couple of national championships."

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story inaccurately listed the MLB draft signing deadline as July 15. The date has been corrected to July 7.