Virginia Tech pitcher Drew Hackenberg will be selected in the second round of the 2023 MLB Draft on Sunday, followed by outfielders Jack Hurley, Christian Whalley, Brady Kiltner and Carson Jones on Monday and Tuesday. Four Hawkeyes in fielding joined him.
Hurley was selected Monday afternoon by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the 80th overall pick (10th pick in the third round). Worley was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals a few hours later with the No. 275 pick (9th round, 21st pick). Kiltner was traded Tuesday to the New York Mets in the 366th pick (12th round, 22nd pick). Carson Jones rounded out his class with the 457th pick (15th round, 23rd pick) when he was drafted by the Seattle Mariners.
In total, 23 Hawkeyes have been drafted since Jon Sefuk took over in 2017. At least 11 players from Virginia Tech’s 2022 Super Regional Team In addition to the five players drafted in 2023, playing in professional baseball will be Gavin Cross, Tanner Shovel, Nick Vidison, Cade Hunter, Graham Filoved, and Jordan Zieber (undrafted) who participated in last year’s tournament. free agents). Carson Demartini and others may join the group in the future.
HarleyHe is the 36th overall prospect, according to mlb.com, and is the first Hawkeye to be drafted by the Diamondbacks. He will join the Arizona franchise alongside former Tech pitcher and 2022 National League All-Star Joe Mantiply. Hurley, an All-American and All-ACC player, batted .321 in three seasons with Blacksburg and will have 49 RBIs and 17 home runs in 2023. The Ballsburg, Pennsylvania, player has a team-best .713 slugging percentage in 2023. His best performance at Tech came in April against Charlottesville, when he went 7-for-10 with 3 homers and 8 RBIs in two wins over UVa.
Wally In 2023, he had a 2.70 ERA for the Hokies, but injuries limited him to just five games. He will be the third tech pitcher to land in St. Louis in the Safe C era, following Connor Coward (2018) and Chris Gerrard (2021). The Halifax County native posted a 4.42 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 36 2/3 innings in his three seasons at Tech. One of his best performances was in the 2022 NCAA Tournament against Wright State, where he struck 3 1/3 innings against then-career-high five hitters in a 15-9 win.
Kiltner After two seasons with the Hokies, he posted a 4.62 ERA in 25 1/3 innings in 2023. He is the fifth engineering college player to be drafted by the Mets, and the fourth pitcher since Brad Markey in 2012. The Christiansburg native took 36 hitters, including a career-high five in a 10-7 victory over Georgia Tech in April.
Jones Coming out at the end of the 2022 regular season, he hit seven homers in five games. Few Hawkeyes will ever forget his 18-6 win over Clemson in the ACC Tournament, where he went 2-for-5 with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs. The Glen Allen, Virginia native has since become a mainstay in the Virginia Tech hitting lineup, hitting 14 home runs in 2023 with a .299 batting average and 47 RBIs. He is the fourth player to be drafted by Seattle, following Eddie Campbell in 2013, and the second as an outfielder after Brian Roop (1981).
Two Hokies baseball players, Brady Smith and Blake Dickerson, were also drafted. The former is a right-handed pitcher from Grainer High School in Tennessee, who moved to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the third round. His slots bonus he is worth $705,500. Meanwhile, Dickerson, a 6-foot-6 left-handed pitcher from Ocean Lakes High School in Virginia Beach, was drafted in the 12th round by the San Diego Padres. His slots bonus he is worth $150,000.
