10 Best Players From The College World Series Entering The MLB Draft
10 Best Players From The College World Series Entering The MLB Draft
2024 national champion Tennessee boasts some of the top MLB draft prospects moving to The Show after appearing in the College World Series.
The Tennessee baseball team hoisted the hardware to cap the 2024 Men's College World Series, but their national championship isn't the only moment some Vols will celebrate this summer.
This season's College World Series champions boast some of the top prospects in the upcoming 2024 MLB draft.
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But the MLB-bound Vols have company among their counterparts from Omaha. The entire field of the 2024 College World Series should be well-represented in the early round of the draft, with each participant boasting at least one prospect projected as a likely top-50 selection.
Billy Amick, Tennessee Volunteers - Third Base
After spending the previous two collegiate seasons at Clemson, Billy Amick transferred to Tennessee in 2024 and made a profound impact on the Vols' national title pursuit.
Amick hit .306 in 255 at-bats with 23 home runs — the latter ranking No. 23 among all Div. I batters this past season.
MLB.com tabbed Amick as one of the fastest risers in the 2024 draft class, emerging from relative obscurity at Clemson to becoming a potential first-rounder after his time at Tennessee.
Jac Caglianone, Florida Gators - First Baseman and Left-Handed Pitcher
Of all the 2024 College World Series participants headed to the MLB draft, Florida's Jac Caglianone may be the first selected.
He is widely considered a top-five choice in this class, his tenure at Florida reaching a crescendo with a campaign for the ages in which he hit .419; slugged .875; and had an on-base percentage of .544.
Only Golden Spikes Award winner Charlie Condon hit more than Caglianone's 35 home runs in 2024, which included a pair of four-baggers in Omaha.
Caglianone's college career ended with his being named the 2024 John Olerud Award winner, given to the sport's best two-way player. Caglianone backed up his impressive exploits at the plate with a 4.76 ERA in 73 2/3 innings pitched, during which he struck out 83 batters.
Jacob Cozart, NC State Wolfpack - Catcher
Jacob Cozart's rock-solid play behind the plate on defense continued through a three-year tenure at NC State in which his offensive production jumped each season.
Cozart broke out as a hitter in 2023, batting .301 with a .546 slugging percentage, 10 home runs, and 14 doubles. In 2024, Cozart's average improved to .305, he almost doubled his home-run production with 19, and he drew more than twice as many walks (52) as the season prior (24).
Vance Honeycutt, North Carolina Tar Heels - Centerfield
A sensational 2024 culminated with Vance Honeycutt named to the College World Series All-Tournament team.
Honeycutt, the 2023 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, showed off an improved presence at the plate all season but took it to another level with four multiple-hit games in the postseason. Honeycutt also hit six of his 28 home runs in 2024 during the NCAA Tournament, including one in each of the Tar Heels' final two College World Series contests.
That power provides a nice complement to Honeycutt's speed, which produced 29 and 28 stolen bases in 2022 and 2024, and his aforementioned excellence in centerfield.
Braden Montgomery, Texas A&M Aggies - Outfielder
Braden Montgomery achieved a noteworthy feat with College World Series appearances in consecutive seasons but with two different teams. A catalyst of Stanford's run to Omaha in 2023, Montgomery transferred to Texas A&M and was integral to the Aggies' push to the championship series.
One of the most consistent batters in the college ranks both seasons, Montgomery went .336 with a .461 on-base percentage and homered 17 times at Stanford a season ago. In 2024 as an Aggie, Montgomery hit .322 with a .454 on-base percentage, homered 27 times, and drove in the fifth-most runs of anyone in the nation with 85.
MLB.com projects Montgomery becoming the highest-drafted position player ever out of Texas A&M, which would slot him no worse than No. 14 overall. Some mock drafts have slated Montgomery returning to Northern California (until the franchise moves to Las Vegas, anyway) as the No. 4 overall pick of the Athletics.
Christian Moore, Tennessee Volunteers - Second Base
Christian Moore's career statistics at Tennessee are eye-popping: A .338 batting average over 628 at-bats, a career .697 slugging percentage, 160 RBI, and 61 home runs after his 34 in 2024 put him in the hunt for the national lead.
The last of Moore's 34 round-trippers in 2024 set the tone of Tennessee's decisive College World Series, earning the standout second baseman a place in Vols lore alongside such names as new Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Todd Helton.
Following an outstanding NCAA Tournament, Moore rides the wave into a likely top-20 spot in the MLB draft.
Griff O'Ferrall, Virginia Cavaliers - Shortstop
A record-setting batter in his time at Virginia, Griff O'Ferrall exits Charlottesville with 270 knocks and a three-season batting average of .344 that never dipped below .308 in any one campaign.
O'Ferrall's consistency at the plate produced similar results on the base paths, with him swiping 16 of 17 bags all three seasons.
Most projections have O'Ferrall just outside of the first round, which makes him a likely candidate to break out professionally as a high-reward prospect per MLB draft slot valuation.
Cam Smith, Florida State Seminoles - Third Base
Draft-eligible sophomore Cam Smith arrived at Florida State projected as a top-100 draft prospect had he opted for the pros straight from high school. Instead, Smith honed his presence at the plate and proved himself at third base to become a potential top-10 draftee in 2024.
After batting just .258 as a freshman, Smith delivered a monster .387 in 2024 over 60 more at-bats, struck out 18 fewer times (48 vs. 66), drew 23 more walks (44 vs. 21), and drove in 21 more runs (57 vs. 36).
Smith had a pair of three-hit games during the NCAA Tournament, including in the Super Regional against UConn.
James Tibbs III, Florida State Seminoles - Outfielder
The best of three impressive seasons at Florida State was James Tibbs III's last. After hitting .300 in 2022 and .338 in 2023, Tibbs batted an outstanding .363 for the College World Series-qualifying Seminoles. He also hit more home runs in 2024 (28) than the previous two campaigns combined (10 in 2022 and 17 in 2023).
Tibbs' power was never more evident than in a three-home run showing in the Super Regional, the last of which came in the 12th inning of a marathon matchup with UConn.
JAMES. TIBBS. THE THIRD.
— ACC Baseball (@ACCBaseball) June 8, 2024
The ACC Player of the Year launches his THIRD home run of the day in the 12th!
📺 ESPN | @FSUBaseball
pic.twitter.com/pR7BU5c95H
Consensus tabs Tibbs for the top 15 of the MLB draft.
Ryan Waldschmidt, Kentucky Wildcats - Leftfielder
A freshman sensation at Charleston Southern, Ryan Waldschmidt transferred to Kentucky a season ago and made an impression in 2023 with a .290 batting average and 17 stolen bases.
Waldschmidt was just getting started, however, settling into SEC play with a .333 batting average, .610 slugging percentage, 25 stolen bases, 46 RBI, and 14 home runs in 2024 — all career-bests.
After earning All-American honors, Waldschmidt embarks on the MLB draft as a potential first-round pick.
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