NC State baseball players, recruits selected on final day of MLB Draft
The third and final day of the Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft saw multiple NC State baseball players and recruits selected. In particular, the prospects of the Wolfpack bullpen for next spring took a hit.
Junior righty Justin Lawson may have been the most effective reliever for NC State baseball in 2023. He tied for team-high 27 appearances and finished with the team lead among qualified pitchers (minimum 10.0 innings) with a 3.27 ERA. Lawson gave up nine earned runs in a tough three-game stretch in March, but if you remove those from the equation, his ERA was 1.82 in the other 24 appearances.
Lawson was chosen in the 15th round by the New York Mets.
Four rounds earlier, the Mets selected former UNC Wilmington closer Brett Banks, who had committed to transfer to NC State. Banks was always considered a high probability to be drafted and never pitch for the Wolfpack.
Banks is a Garner native who had a 3.99 ERA in 30 relief appearances and had eight saves while helping UNC Wilmington win the Colonial Athletic Association this past season. He gave up 31 hits over 38.1 innings and struck out 44. D1Baseball.com’s top 150 collegiate draft prospects had Banks at No. 100. Sources had previously indicated to TheWolfpacker.com that Banks was expected to sign if drafted high enough.
A third prospective bullpen arm was also drafted. Junior lefty Rio Britton struggled with consistency in his lone season with NC State baseball, posting a 4.83 ERA in 22 appearances, but his prior successes at Oregon and raw pitching repertoire kept him on the MLB radar.
Britton was chosen in the 15th round by the Arizona Diamondbacks, who also selected NC State third baseman Gino Groover in the second round.
Two NC State Baseball Hitters Also Drafted
Junior shortstop Kalae Harrison hit .313 and paced the Pack with three triples. His .436 on-base percentage was third best in the lineup. Harrison also graded out very well as an infielder, taking over at shortstop during the season for NC State. The Pittsburgh Pirates chose the former Texas A&M transfer in the 18th round.
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Junior outfielder Carter Trice started most of the early games, but his struggles at the plate (.248 average) saw him demoted to primarily pinch-hitting status. Nevertheless, Trice’s prior successes at Old Dominion were enough to convince the Chicago Cubs to pick Trice in the 12th round.
One more recruit from the prep ranks was drafted. Left-handed pitcher Ryan Marohn from Chantilly (Va.) Freedom High was chosen in the 20th and final round by the Cleveand Guardians. Marohn was rated by Perfect Game as the No. 331 overall recruit in the 2023 class.
On Monday, Largo (Fla.) Calvary Christian righthanded pitcher Landen Maroudis was picked by the Toronto Blue Jays during the fourth round.
Not chosen were a trio of recruits ranked in Perfect Game’s top 125 and headliners of a class rated No. 24 nationally. Righthanded pitcher Chance Mako (ranked No. 73) from Salisbury (N.C.) East Rowan, catcher Alex Sosa (No. 99) from Viera (Fla.) High and shortstop Jaxon Lucas (No. 117) from Garner (N.C.) High were unchosen and likely to suit up for NC State baseball next season.
