Earlier this week, 55 current and former West Coast League players were selected in 2024 Major League Baseball Draft.
There were 22 alumni selected in the first 10 rounds of the Draft, and five of the 54 total selections are players that have been active in the WCL this summer.
Sunday night, 2021 WCL MVP Travis Bazzana of Oregon State was selected as the No. 1 overall pick of the Draft by the Cleveland Guardians. The former Corvallis Knights slugger is the second WCL alumnus to be taken as the first overall pick in the MLB Draft, following in the footsteps of Adley Rutschman in 2019.
Prior to his freshman year at Oregon State, Bazzana was the WCL’s MVP in 2021 and won the Top Prospect Award after batting a sizzling .429 to capture the league title, in the process setting a WCL single-season record. Bazzana also led the league in runs (46), hits (81), total bases (112), triples (5) and slugging percentage (.593) and propelled the Knights to their fifth straight league championship.
In seven of the last eight years, a player with WCL experience has been taken in the first round, including two No. 1 overall picks, Bazzana and Adley Rutschman (2019).
Below, please see the list of current and former WCL players drafted this week:
Round / Player / School / WCL Club(s) / MLB Org
– 1st round, Travis Bazzana, Oregon State, Corvallis, Cleveland Guardians
– 1st round, Malcolm Moore, Stanford, Bellingham, Texas Rangers
– 3rd round, Nick McLain, Arizona State, Bellingham, Chicago White Sox
– 3rd round, Thatcher Hurd, LSU, Bellingham, New York Yankees
– 3rd round, Jaron DeBerry, Dallas Baptist, Cowlitz, Milwaukee Brewers
– 4th round, Jakob Wright, Cal Poly, Corvallis, Los Angeles Dodgers
– 5th round, Sam Stuhr, U. of Portland, Corvallis, Oakland A’s
– 5th round, Charlie Beilenson, Duke, Bellingham, Seattle Mariners
– 5th round, Jacob Kmatz, Oregon State, Bend, Tampa Bay Rays
– 5th round, Ryan Stafford, Cal Poly, Corvallis, Baltimore Orioles
– 6th round, Matt Ager, UC Santa Barbara, Corvallis, Pittsburgh Pirates
– 6th round, Aaron Parker, UC Santa Barbara, Cowlitz, Toronto Blue Jays
– 7th round, Bridger Holmes, Oregon State, Springfield, Los Angeles Angels
– 7th round, Ivan Brethowr, UC Santa Barbara, Edmonton, Chicago Cubs
– 7th round, Nick Brink, U. of Portland, Portland, Miami Marlins
– 7th round, Elijah Hainline, Oregon State, Bellingham, Los Angeles Dodgers
– 8th round, Luke Jewett, UCLA, Port Angeles, Colorado Rockies
– 9th round, Cade McGee, Texas Tech, Cowlitz, St. Louis Cardinals
– 9th round, Zach Swanson, Oregon State, Cowlitz, Detroit Tigers
– 9th round, Jason Doktorczyk, Nevada, Portland, Minnesota Twins
– 9th round, Keith Jones II, New Mexico State, Portland, Texas Rangers
– 10th round, Matt Halbach, UC San Diego, Wenatchee, Chicago Cubs
– 11th round, Steven Brooks, Cal Poly, Port Angeles, Boston Red Sox
– 12th round, Sean Heppner, U. of British Columbia, Kamloops/Victoria, Cleveland Guardians
– 12th round, Zander Darby, UC Santa Barbara, Corvallis, San Francisco Giants
– 12th round, Connor Caskenette, Purdue, Nanaimo, Miami Marlins
– 12th round, Christian Becerra, Cal, Port Angeles, Minnesota Twins
– 13th round, R. J. Goron, Oregon, Bend, Los Angeles Angels
– 13th round, Bennett Thompson, Oregon, Bend, Cleveland Guardians
– 13th round, Drake George, Lewis-Clark State, Walla Walla, San Francisco Giants
– 13th round, Cody Schrier, UCLA, Bellingham, Miami Marlins
– 13th round, Mike Villani, Long Beach State, Bellingham, Los Angeles Dodgers
– 13th round, Bryce Boettcher, Oregon, Springfield/Bend, Houston Astros
– 14th round, Ryan Magdic, Missouri, Edmonton/Victoria, Oakland A’s
– 14th round, Preston Howey, St. Mary’s (Cal.), Port Angeles, Detroit Tigers
– 14th round, Cam Clayton, Washington, Portland, Miami Marlins
– 14th round, J. R. Freethy, Nevada, Bellingham, Toronto Blue Jays
– 14th round, Mason Guerra, Oregon State, Bend, Atlanta Braves
– 15th round, Joey Gartrell, U. of Portland, Corvallis, Boston Red Sox
– 16th round, Titus Dumitru, New Mexico State, Corvallis, Atlanta Braves
– 17th round, Lucas Ramirez, Tennessee, Victoria, Los Angeles Angels
– 17th round, Hunter Dyrden, Whitworth, Springfield, San Francisco Giants
– 17th round, Micah McDowell, Oregon State, Ridgefield, Miami Marlins
– 17th round, Gavin Smith, Pepperdine, Edmonton, Toronto Blue Jays
– 17th round, Jackson Nicklaus, Oklahoma, Ridgefield, Los Angeles Dodgers
– 18th round, Liam Paddack, Gonzaga, Port Angeles, Chicago White Sox
– 18th round, Teo Banks, Tulane, Bellingham, Washington Nationals
– 18th round, Jace Hampson, Everett CC, Wenatchee, New York Mets
– 18th round, Izaak Martinez, UC San Diego, Cowlitz/Edmonton, Cleveland Guardians
– 18h round, Jake Steels, Cal Poly, Kelowna, Atlanta Braves
– 19th round, Vicarte Domingo, U. of British Columbia, Edmonton/Kamloops, San Diego Padres
– 20th round, Carter Frederick, Oklahoma, Portland, Kansas City Royals
– 20th round, Hunter Omlid, Arizona State, Victoria, Colorado Rockies
– 20th round, Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek, UC San Diego, Yakima Valley, Toronto Blue Jays
– 20th round, Merit Jones, Utah, Corvallis, Minnesota Twins
With the draft being 20 rounds, a great many additional former WCLers also signed their first professional contracts as non-drafted free agents. Here’s the updated list of WCL NDFA signees:
Player / School / WCL Club(s) / MLB Org
Shay Timmer, Salt Lake CC, Portland/Kamloops, Detroit Tigers
Jagger Beck, Hawaii, Victoria, Houston Astros
Justin Trimble, UC Santa Barbara, Ridgefield, Houston Astros
Jessada Brown, UC Santa Barbara, Victoria, Miami Marlins
Owen Cobb, Stanford, Yakima Valley, New York Yankees
Ben Newton, Fresno State, Springfield, Oakland A’s
Tommy Takayoshi, Niagara, Edmonton, Oakland A’s
Connor Dykstra, George Mason, Victoria, Seattle Mariners
Click below to see the previous year-by-year list of WCL alumni taken in the MLB Draft.
*Photo by Justin P. Morash
About the West Coast League: The West Coast League is western North America’s premier summer collegiate baseball league. Encompassing Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and Alberta, the WCL showcases pro prospects from major collegiate conferences around the nation. Every summer, the League features unparalleled fan and player experiences, with tremendous baseball weather and a mix of classic and modern ballparks, all backdropped by the sport’s most stunning scenery. MLB’s 2024 amateur draft opened with former Corvallis Knight Travis Bazzana selected as the overall No. 1 pick by the Cleveland Guardians, and this summer’s WCL All-Star Game is being broadcast live by MLB Network.
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