NEW ORLEANS – Following a 2023 campaign in which it sent four baseball programs to NCAA Baseball Regionals for the second-straight season, the Sun Belt had 20 players selected in the 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft.
With 20 selections, the Sun Belt ran its all-time tally to 834 picks over the three-day affair from July 9-11.
Louisiana junior first baseman and outfielder Carson Roccaforte (2nd, 66th) was the first Sun Belt student-athlete off the board as the 66th overall pick by the Kansas City Royals—giving the Sun Belt a Day 1 selection in three-straight MLB Drafts.
The 2023 Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year and All-Sun Belt First Team selection Southern Miss junior right-handed pitcher Tanner Hall (4th, 114th) was next off the board, going to the Minnesota Twins in the fourth round. Four picks later, All-Sun Belt Second Team honoree Texas State junior right-handed pitcher Levi Wells (4th, 118th) was selected by the Baltimore Orioles.
Southern Miss junior left-handed pitcher Justin Storm (7th, 203rd – Miami Marlins) kicked off a run of five Sun Belt selections over 29 picks, followed by Coastal Carolina junior right-handed pitcher Teddy Sharkey (7th, 211th – Baltimore Orioles), Marshall junior right-handed pitcher Patrick Copen (7th, 220th – Los Angeles Dodgers), Southern Miss junior shortstop Dustin Dickerson (8th, 229th – Kansas City Royals) and Louisiana junior catcher Julian Brock (8th, 231st – Texas Rangers). Sharkey and Dickerson were All-Sun Belt First Team picks in 2023, while Brock was a Second Teamer.
ULM junior right-handed pitcher Nicholas Judice (8th, 252nd – New York Yankees), Troy graduate student right-handed pitcher Zach Fruit (9th, 271st – Baltimore Orioles) and Southern Miss junior outfielder Matthew Etzel (10th, 301st – Baltimore Orioles) rounded out the Sun Belt’s Day 2 selections. With 11 selections over the first 10 rounds of the MLB Draft, the Sun Belt trailed only the SEC, ACC, Pac-12, Big Ten and Big 12.
South Alabama redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Sam Knowlton (12th, 355th) was the first Sun Belt student-athlete selected on Day 3, by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the 355th overall pick. Fellow Jaguar junior outfielder Colson Lawrence (13th, 383rd – Miami Marlins) was the first of four Sun Belt selections over a 13-pick span in the 13th round, followed by Old Dominion junior right-handed pitcher Sam Armstrong (13th, 386th – Chicago Cubs), South Alabama redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher Jeremy Lee (13th, 387th – Minnesota Twins) and Troy junior first baseman William Sullivan (13th, 395th – St. Louis Cardinals).
Four more Sun Belt junior right-handed pitchers heard their names called in the 14th and 15th rounds—led by All-Sun Belt First Teamer Xander Hamilton out of App State (14th, 417th – Minnesota Twins). Joining him in rounding out the Sun Belt's draft class were James Madison’s Joe Vogatsky (14th, 424th – Toronto Blue Jays), Louisiana’s Jackson Nezuh (14th, 434th – Houston Astros) and Marshall’s Zac Addkison (15th, 461st – San Diego Padres).
Sun Belt tournament champion and NCAA Baseball Super Regional host Southern Miss paced all Sun Belt institutions with four selections in the 2023 MLB Draft. Sun Belt tournament runner-up Louisiana (3), South Alabama (3), Marshall (2) and Troy (2) also boasted multiple draft picks. App State, Coastal Carolina, James Madison, ULM, Old Dominion and Texas State also had a student-athlete picked, giving 11-of-14 Sun Belt baseball programs representation in this year’s draft class.
The Baltimore Orioles (4), Minnesota Twins (3), Kansas City Royals (2) and Miami Marlins (2) each selected multiple Sun Belt student-athletes during the 2023 MLB Draft.
2023 MLB Draft Picks
Carson Roccaforte, Louisiana (2nd, 66th – Kansas City Royals)
Tanner Hall, Southern Miss (4th, 114th – Minnesota Twins)
Levi Wells, Texas State (4th, 118th – Baltimore Orioles)
Justin Storm, Southern Miss (7th, 203rd – Miami Marlins)
Teddy Sharkey, Coastal Carolina (7th, 211th – Baltimore Orioles)
Patrick Copen, Marshall (7th, 220th – Los Angeles Dodgers)
Dustin Dickerson, Southern Miss (8th, 229th – Kansas City Royals)
Julian Brock, Louisiana (8th, 231st – Texas Rangers)
Nicholas Judice, ULM (8th, 252nd – New York Yankees)
Zach Fruit, Troy (9th, 271st – Baltimore Orioles)
Matthew Etzel, Southern Miss (10th, 301st – Baltimore Orioles)
Sam Knowlton, South Alabama (12th, 355th – Arizona Diamondbacks)
Colson Lawrence, South Alabama (13th, 383rd – Miami Marlins)
Sam Armstrong, Old Dominion (13th, 386th – Chicago Cubs)
Jeremy Lee, South Alabama (13th, 387th – Minnesota Twins)
William Sullivan, Troy (13th, 395th – St. Louis Cardinals)
Xander Hamilton, App State (14th, 417th – Minnesota Twins)
Joe Vogatsky, James Madison (14th, 424th – Toronto Blue Jays)
Jackson Nezuh, Louisiana (14th, 434th – Houston Astros)
Zac Addkison, Marshall (15th, 461st – San Diego Padres)