A brief history of Kentucky Baseball in the MLB Draft

The 2024 MLB Draft gets underway Sunday night at 7:00 p.m. EST, and is expected to have some Kentucky flair.

Kentucky left fielder Ryan Waldschmidt, who hit for a .333 BA with 17 doubles, 14 home runs, and 46 RBI this season, is currently projected to be drafted 21st overall by the Minnesota Twins in Kiley McDaniel’s latest MLB Mock Draft. If Waldy is selected in the first round, he’d become the third player to be selected in the First Round of the Draft in the Nick Mingione era.

Ryan Waldschmidt was a standout performer for @UKBaseball and projects as a potential first-round pick in next month's MLB Draft!

He joined #MLBTonight to discuss the evolution of the Wildcat baseball program, his experience facing Paul Skenes in the SEC and more. pic.twitter.com/XjBaSrdwOA

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) July 1, 2024

First baseman Evan White (17th in 2017) and left-handed pitcher Zack Thompson (19th in 2019) are the other two first round picks.

Other high profile players from the SEC, such as Florida’s Jac Caglianone, Georgia’s Charlie Condon, Arkansas’ Hagen Smith, and Texas A&M’s Braden Montgomery are also projected as first rounders.

Kentucky second baseman Émilien Pitre, former right-handed pitcher Travis Smith, and right-handed pitcher Mason Moore all expect to hear their names called at some point in the Draft as well.

There have been seven first round picks in Kentucky Baseball history. Outfielder Everett Murphy holds the crown as the highest drafted Cat, as he went fifth overall to the Baltimore Orioles in 1975. Evan White however is the highest drafted Cat to actually make it to the Major Leagues.

The most successful former Cat in the MLB however has to be right-hander Brandon Webb, who was drafted 249th overall (eighth round) in the 2000 MLB Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks. The UK Athletics Hall of Famer pitched seven seasons, where he was named an MLB All-Star three times (2006-2008) and won the NL Cy Young Award in 2006.

175 Wildcats have been drafted in program history, which is the 13th most among SEC teams. Texas A&M (278 players) has had the most drafted in the conference.

38 former Cats that were drafted have made it to The Show. Most recently, right-hander Zack Thompson made his Major League debut on June 3, 2022. The full list of drafted Cats to make it to the Majors is below.

• OF Derek Bryant (Round 8, Pick 191 to Oakland Athletics in 1973 MLB Draft)
• C Marv Foley (Round 17, Pick 395 to Chicago White Sox in 1975 MLB Draft)
• LHP Jeff Keener (Round 7, Pick 163 to St. Louis Cardinals in 1981 MLB Draft)
• RHP Jeff Parrett (Round 9, Pick 236 to Milwaukee Brewers in 1983 MLB Draft)
• LHP Paul Kilgus (Round 43, Pick 821 to Texas Rangers in 1984 MLB Draft)
• RHP Jack Savage (Round 8, Pick 194 to Los Angeles Dodgers in 1985 MLB Draft)
• 2B Terry Shumpert (Round 2, Pick 41 to Kansas City Royals in 1987 MLB Draft)
• RHP Larry Luebbers (Round 8, Pick 216 to Cincinnati Reds in 1990 MLB Draft)
• RHP Rodney Bolton (Round 13, Pick 348 to Chicago White Sox in 1990 MLB Draft)
• RHP William VanLandingham (Round 5, Pick 141 to San Francisco Giants in 1991 MLB Draft)
• RHP Rod Henderson (Round 2, Pick 41 to Montreal Expos in 1992 MLB Draft)
• RHP Mark Thompson (Round 2, Pick 65 to Colorado Rockies in 1992 MLB Draft)
• OF Jeff Abbott (Round 4, Pick 117 to Chicago White Sox in 1994 MLB Draft)
• LHP Scott Downs (Round 3, Pick 94 to Chicago Cubs in 1997 MLB Draft)
• RHP Brandon Webb (Round 8, Pick 249 to Arizona Diamondbacks in 2000 MLB Draft)
• 2B Andy Green (Round 24, Pick 729 to Arizona Diamondbacks in 2000 MLB Draft)
• RHP Joe Blanton (Round 1, Pick 24 to Oakland Athletics in 2002 MLB Draft)
• OF Collin Cowgill (Round 5, Pick 168 to Arizona Diamondbacks in 2008 MLB Draft)
• RHP Andrew Albers (Round 10, Pick 315 to San Diego Padres in 2008 MLB Draft)
• LHP James Paxton (Round 1, Pick 37 to Toronto Blue Jays in 2009 MLB Draft)
• LHP Chris Rusin (Round 4, Pick 140 to Chicago Cubs in 2009 MLB Draft)
• LHP Logan Darnell (Round 6, Pick 195 to Minnesota Twins in 2010 MLB Draft)
• RHP Alex Meyer (Round 1, Pick 23 to Washington Nationals in 2011 MLB Draft)
• C Luke Maile (Round 8, Pick 272 to Tampa Bay Rays in 2012 MLB Draft)
• LHP Taylor Rogers (Round 11, Pick 340 to Minnesota Twins in 2012 MLB Draft)
• RHP Tim Peterson (Round 20, Pick 620 to New York Mets in 2012 MLB Draft)
• RHP Trevor Gott (Round 6, Pick 178 to San Diego Padres in 2013 MLB Draft)
• SS JT Riddle (Round 13, Pick 382 to Miami Marlins in 2013 MLB Draft)
• 1B AJ Reed (Round 2, Pick 42 to Houston Astros in 2014 MLB Draft)
• RHP Chandler Shepherd (Round 13, Pick 404 to Boston Red Sox in 2014 MLB Draft)
• OF Ka’ai Tom (Round 5, Pick 154 to Cleveland Indians in 2015 MLB Draft)
• RHP Kyle Cody (Round 6, Pick 189 to Texas Rangers in 2016 MLB Draft)
• 1B Evan White (Round 1, Pick 17 to Seattle Mariners in 2017 MLB Draft)
• RHP Zach Pop (Round 7, Pick 220 to Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017 MLB Draft)
• LHP Zach Logue (Round 9, Pick 279 to Toronto Blue Jays in 2017 MLB Draft)
• OF Zach Reks (Round 10, Pick 310 to Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017 MLB Draft)
• RHP Sean Hjelle (Round 2, Pick 45 to San Francisco Giants in 2018 MLB Draft)
• LHP Zack Thompson (Round 1, Pick 19 to St. Louis Cardinals in 2019 MLB Draft)

Ryan Waldschmidt (who is projected to be drafted tonight), 2B Émilien Pitre, and RHP Travis Smith will surely join that list after being selected at some point in the event. The Draft begins at 7:00 p.m. EST on ESPN.