NC State shortstop Kalae Harrison selected by Pittsburgh Pirates in 2023 MLB Draft

NC State shortstop Kalae Harrison is off the board in the 2023 MLB Draft. Harrison has been selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 18th round. He was taken as the No. 527 overall pick.

Harrison started all 57 games for the Wolfpack in 2023, splitting time between shortstop and second base. He transferred to NC State after starting his career at Texas A&M.

A native of Hawaii, Harrison was third on the team with a .313 batting average. He finished the year with 10 doubles, three triples, two home runs and 31 RBIs.

Kalae Harrison also led NC State in walks with 37, as well as walks with three. He helped the Wolfpack reach the NCAA Tournament. They were eliminated in the Regional round as South Carolina won the Columbia Regional.

More on the 2023 MLB Draft

The 2023 Major League Baseball Draft will begin during All-Star week, with the first two rounds getting underway at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 9. Rounds 3-10 will then begin at 2 p.m. ET on Monday, July 10, with rounds 11-20 starting at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 11.

This year’s MLB Draft is a historic one, as a draft lottery was used to determine the order for the first time. The Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Oakland Athletics each had a 16.5% chance to receive the No. 1 overall pick. Ultimately, Pittsburgh won the right to have the first selection, with Washington finishing right behind them at No. 2. Oakland, however, fell all the way down to No. 6 overall.

While the MLB Draft is always unpredictable, the consensus is that this year’s top prospects both hail from LSU, who won the 2023 College World Series. Pitcher Paul Skenes and outfielder Dylan Crews headline this year’s class, which is considered a deep one.

Within the first ten rounds of the draft, each slot is assigned a certain value. Each team has a bonus pool that they are able to spend on these picks, and players will sign at, above or below their assigned slot value.

In rounds 11-20, there is no assigned slot value and MLB teams are free to spend up to $150,000 to sign their picks from the second half of the draft. If they exceed the $150,000 mark, that added amount will be deducted from their bonus pool.

Following the final day of the 2023 MLB Draft, selected players will have until August 1 to sign a contract.