NEW YORK – Twenty-two Sun Belt Conference baseball student-athletes were drafted this week in the 2019 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft. Six student-athletes were taken on day two and an additional 16 were selected on the draft's final day.
Georgia State's Hunter Gaddis was the first Sun Belt baseball student-athlete to hear his named called, going to the Cleveland Indians in the fifth round (160th overall). Gaddis' pick makes him the highest draft pick in school history.
Wednesday's third and final round saw Little Rock's McKinley Moore go off the board first from the Sun Belt, being selected in the 14th round by the Chicago White Sox. Coastal Carolina's Cory Wood and ULM's Chad Bell each went in the 19th round to the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees, respectively.
Wood was the first of six Chanticleers to hear their named called on Wednesday. Scott McKeon was chosen in the 21st round by the Detroit Tigers, Zach Biermann in the 23rd round by the Houston Astros, Jake Wright by the Pirates in the 32nd round, and Keaton Weisz and Kyle Skeels in the 36th round by the Los Angeles Angels and St. Louis Cardinals, respectively.
Wright, the 2019 Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year, led the Chants and was second in the Sun Belt in hitting at .355 overall on the season. He led the Sun Belt in on-base percentage at .516 on the year and was second in the league in walks with 45.
A trio of Texas State Bobcats were selected on Wednesday in Nick Fraze, Jaylen Hubbard and Connor Reich. Fraze was chosen by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 22nd round, Hubbard by the Washington Nationals in the 27th round and Reich went to the White Sox in the 31st round.
Reich was named the Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year and was a First Team All-Conference selection after going 8-2 with a 4.47 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 90.2 innings.
Thirteen of the 22 selected in this year's draft were either First or Second Team All-Sun Belt.
Coastal Carolina led all teams with seven total draft picks in 2019. Texas State had four student-athletes drafted and ULM had three.
The Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees each chose three Sun Belt baseball student-athletes while the Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Nationals each chose two. Fourteen different MLB teams chose a student-athlete from the Sun Belt in 2019.
Hunter Gaddis, RHP, Georgia State
Round 5, Pick 160 - Cleveland Indians
Seth Shuman, RHP, Georgia Southern
Round 6, Pick 194 - Oakland Athletics
Zach Greene, RHP, South Alabama
Round 8, Pick 255 - New York Yankees
Hunter McMahon, RHP, Texas State
Round 9, Pick 273 - Washington Nationals
Todd Lott, DH, Louisiana
Round 9, Pick 275 - St. Louis Cardinals
Anthony Veneziano, LHP, Coastal Carolina
Round 10, Pick 289 - Kansas City Royals
McKinley Moore, RHP, Little Rock
Round 14, Pick 410 - Chicago White Sox
Cory Wood, INF, Coastal Carolina
Round 19, Pick 574 - Pittsburgh Pirates
Chad Bell, INF, ULM
Round 19, Pick 585 - New York Yankees
Scott McKeon, INF, Coastal Carolina
Round 21, Pick 622 - Detroit Tigers
Nick Fraze, RHP, Texas State
Round 22, Pick 657 - Toronto Blue Jays
Trent Tinglestad, OF, ULM
Round 22, Pick 666 - Seattle Mariners
Chandler Fidel, LHP, Little Rock
Round 23, Pick 700 - Cleveland Indians
Zach Biermann, 1B, Coastal Carolina
Round 23, Pick 706 - Houston Astros
Jaylen Hubbard, INF, Texas State
Round 27, Pick 813 - Washington Nationals
Kyle MacDonald, 1B, Arkansas State
Round 27, Pick 825 - New York Yankees
Connor Reich, RHP, Texas State
Round 31, Pick 920 - Chicago White Sox
Jake Wright, OF, Coastal Carolina
Round 32, Pick 964 - Pittsburgh Pirates
Trey Jeans, LHP, ULM
Round 33, Pick 980 - Chicago White Sox
Keaton Weisz, INF, Coastal Carolina
Round 36, Pick 1081 - Los Angeles Angels
Kyle Skeels, C, Coastal Carolina
Round 36, Pick 1085 - St. Louis Cardinals
Andrew Gross, RHP, UT Arlington
Round 39, Pick 1178 - Tampa Bay Rays