Four players took different paths to hear their name in the second day of the MLB amateur draft. Kiefer Lord, Jonah Advincula and Andrew Sears transferred to D1 schools and with the exposure at the top level, they were drafted in the third, eighth and tenth rounds. Charlie Szykowny graduated from UW-Stout and used his Covid year to work on his graduate degree as well as his baseball skills in Illinois, catching the attention of the SF Giants.
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Kiefer Lord, RHP, Carleton
Baltimore, 3rd round, No. 86th overall
Ht.: 6-3. Wt.: 195.
Bats: Right. Throws: Right.
Hometown: San Carlos, Calif.
Kiefer Lord led the way for players with a DIII bullet on their resume. Lord transferred to the University of Washington following a record setting sophomore campaign. With their third round selection, 86th overall, the Baltimore Orioles chose Lord as the second of seven pitchers taken by the American League organization.
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| Carelton athletics photo |
Lord, in his freshman year did not showcase his skills that caught the eyes of the scouts the last two years. He finished his first year with a 1-5 record and a 5.14 ERA in seven starts, striking out 26 batters.
He changed things around in what would be his last year in a Knights' uniform. The first team D3baseball.com All-American also garnered Regional Pitcher of the Year honors for Region 9. Lord set the Carelton strikeout record with 81 punchouts while allowing seven free passes. his ERA dropped to 1.65 and finished 4-1 with five complete games and three shutouts. In Lord's 14 starts with the Knights, he finished nine of those games.
Following his sophomore season in Minnesota, Lord wanted to increase the exposure of his pitching game.
“I definitely had to put myself out there because you’re not really going to get exposure at an average or a below average DIII school,” Lord said. “So, I just put out a bunch of emails, and posted some videos on Twitter, and I think that helped get the word out.”
Making the jump to the Pac-12 from Carleton, Lord starred on the mound in his first season in a Husky uniform in 2022.
An All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention selection, Lord led the Pac-12 with a 4.59 strikeout-to-walk ratio, also leading the conference with just 2.02 free passes surrendered per nine innings.
The San Carlos, California, native twice reeled in National Pitcher of the Week honors, Throwing six perfect innings with 10 strikeouts against Northern Colorado (March 4) and delivering eight shutout frames with 10 strikeouts at Stanford (April 22). Lord garnered Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week laurels for both performances as well.
Jonah Advincula, OF, Redlands
San Francisco, 9th round, No. 248th overall
Ht.: 6-1. Wt.: 197.
Bats: Left. Throws: Right.
Hometown: Santa Clara, Calif.
Three year Redlands Bulldog and curent Washington State outfielder, Johna Advincula was drafted on the second day of the MLB amateur draft. He was taken in the eighth round by the Cleveland Guardians with the 248th overall selections
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| Washington St. athletics photo by Rod Commons Photography |
Advincula earned All-Pac-12 Conference Honorable Mention in his first season at Washington State after transferring from Redlands University. The junior outfielder and leadoff man started in 51 of the Cougars 52 games this season and hit .350 with 53 runs scored, 70 hits, 20 doubles, four triples, five home runs, 33 RBI and was 24-of-26 in stolen base attempts. Advincula tied for sixth in the Pac-12 in doubles (20) and was fourth in stolen bases (24), the most doubles by a Cougar since 2006, the most stolen bases since 1996 and was the first Cougar to record 20 doubles and 20 stolen bases in program history.
The Santa Clara, Calif. native was tenth in the league in hitting (.350), recorded 21 multiple-hit games including six 3-hit games, added a 13-game hitting streak, a 22-game on-base streak and opened the season earning Pac-12 Player of the Week honors. In Pac-12 play, Advincula hit .322 with 11 doubles, three home runs and 10 stolen bases.
Prior to WSU, Advincula played three seasons at Redlands where he was a 2022 Division III All-West Region selection after hitting .430 with three doubles, five triples, seven home runs, 38 RBI and 28 stolen bases.
In 2022, Advincula played in 39 games, recorded 65 hits (T-3rd most hits in single-season program history), scored 54 runs (5th most in program history), 15 extra-base hits, 38 RBIs, 28 stolen bases (T-4th most in program history), hit .430 with a .540 on-base percentage and .656 slugging percentage. In all three years for the Bulldogs, Advincula batted .300 or better in each season.
Charlie Szykowny, 3B, UW-Stout
San Francisco, 9th round, No. 270th overall
Ht.: 6-4. Wt.: 225.
Bats: Left. Throws: Right.
Hometown: Palos Heights, Ill.
Former UW-Stout standout Charlie Szykowny was chosen by the San Francisco Giants in the 9th round of the Major League Baseball Draft. Szykowny, a shortstop at UW-Stout, he primarily played third base for the University of Illinois - Chicago and was listed as a third baseman in the list of drafted players.
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| UW-Stout athletics photo |
Szykowny spent the first four years of his college career at the UW-Stout and following his graduation, took advantage of an extra year of eligibility to play for UIC. In his first taste of the Missouri Valley Conference, Szykowny hit .335/.426/.655 with 16 home runs and just 34 strikeouts in 237 plate appearances and won the conference's Newcomer of the Year Award.
For UW-Stout, Charlie Szykowny took the old adage "records are made to be broken" to heart and parlayed a record-breaking season into an All-American season. The slick fielding, hard hitting shortstop twice earned All-America honors when he was selected to the D3baseball.com 2022 All-America Team and to the 2022 American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings All-America Team, earning second team honors on both squads.
Szykowny broke or tied three school records in 2022 and, combined with three school records set in 2021, leaves with six school records.
In the 2022 season, the senior from Palos Heights, Ill, set the school single record for home runs with 18, breaking the mark of 15 set by Brad O'Connell (2001) and Ryan Freitag (2014) and broke the more than 30-year-old RBI record of 54 by John Filas in 1989, when he drove in 55 runs. Szykowny tied the career triples record, hitting four triples this season, to run his totals to 10, matching the mark set by Brandon O'Connell (2008-11).
in 2021, Szykowny set single season records in at-bats (172), runs scored (56) and doubles (22). His 37 career doubles is second on the Stout list, trailing only Seth Maier (50).
"Charlie's season is one of the best seasons that Stout baseball has seen," said coach Ben Kincaid. "At the end of his career, records were broken."
Szykowny finished his career with a .385 batting average (150-390) with 123 runs scored, 37 doubles, 10 triples, 22 home runs with 96 RBI for a slugging percentage of .700. On the Stout all-time list, Szykowny's batting average is sixth, runs scored is seventh, doubles is second, triples tied for first, home runs eighth, RBI 17th and slugging percentage fourth.
While Szykowny's bat did much of the talking, his fielding at shortstop attracted considerable attention. With a wide range, Szykowny finished with a career fielding percentage of .930 and commanded a fielding percentage of .937 in 2022 and .934 in 2021. It was not unusual for Szykowny to bare-hand a ball and throw a runner out. Szykowny helped turn 48 double plays throughout his career, including 14 in 2022 and 28 in 2021 when Stout led the NCAA Division III in double plays turned.
Andrew Sears, LHP, Rhode Island College
Detroit, 10th round, No. 290th overall
Ht.: 6-3. Wt.: 200.
Bats: Left. Throws: Left.
Hometown: West Warwick, R.I.
Andrew Sears was drafted in the tenth round by Detroit from the University of Connecticut. He pitched for the Huskys one year after transferring from Rhode Island College in 2022.
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| Rhode Island College athletics photo |
The lefty spent 2021 and 2022 at Rhode Island College before transferring to Div. I UConn for the 2023 campaign. He appeared in 14 games, starting all of them, for the 44-17 Huskies. Sears went 3-1 with a 6.24 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 62.0 innings of work. UConn fell in the finals of the 2023 BIG EAST Championship and went 1-2 in the NCAA Div. I Championship. His best game in a Huskys uniform cam on April 21st. He took a perfect game into the seventh inning vs. Georgetown and finished the day with season-high 11 strikeouts to earn the victory.
As a sophomore at RIC in 2022, Sears was named a D3baseball.com Fourth Team All-American. He was also named the Little East Pitcher of the Year, First Team All-Little East, First Team All-Region by D3baseball.com and Second Team All-Region by the ABCA/Rawlings. He was also named the Team MVP. Sears appeared in 12 games, starting all of them. He was 8-1 with a 2.29 ERA and 96 strikeouts in 74.2 innings pitched. Sears was named the Little East Pitcher of the Week twice this season.
As a freshman in 2021, he appeared in seven games, starting five of them. He was 3-2 with a 4.55 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 31.2 innings pitched.
Logan Martin, C, Sewanee
Kansas City, 12th round, No. 349th overall
Ht.: 6-1. Wt.: 185.
Bats: Right. Throws: Right.
Hometown: Ashland, Mass.
In the 12th round, with the 349th overall pick, the Kansas City Royals selected Kentuck's Martin. While battling injury this season, Martin was able to make nine appearances, including eight starts. He was 1-1 with a 4.44 ERA in 2023 after transferring to UK from Sewanee.
In 2022, Martin, in his junior year, was named the SAA Pitcher of the Year and was a D3baseball.com All-Region Second Team selection. for his fial year in a Sewanee uniform, he made 11 appearances on the mound with nine start, posting a 1-5 record in 69.1 innings with two complete games and a .238 batting average against. He had 98 strikeouts with 25 walks.
Jackson Hornung, C, Skidmore
Toronto, 16th round, No. 484th overall
Ht.: 6-2. Wt.: 215.
Bats: Right. Throws: Right.
Hometown: Ashland, Mass.
Skidmore College graduate Jackson Hornung was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays Tuesday in the 16th round of the Major League amateur draft being held in Seattle.
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| Skidmore athletics photo |
The All-American catcher and two-time Liberty League Player of the Year is the first Skidmore athlete to be drafted by a professional team. He was the 484th pick.
Hornung began the summer playing for Harwich in the Cape Cod League and is now playing for the North Shore Navigators in the New England Collegiate Baseball League. He has two home runs and a pair of doubles in 13 games for North Shore.
The Ashland, Mass. native hit .424 in his senior season with 51 runs scored, 12 home runs, 23 extra-base hits, 41 RBI, and 10 stolen bases. He led the league in slugging percentage (.803) and on-base percentage (.560).
Hornung graduated with a .430 career batting average having clubbed 22 homers with 106 RBI and 130 runs scored in 98 games played.
Hayden Snelsire, RHP, Randolph-Macon
Tampa Bay, 17th round, No. 513th overall
Ht.: 6-2. Wt.: 180.
Bats: Right. Throws: Right.
Hometown: Berlin, Md.
Senior right-hander Hayden Snelsire was selected in the 17th round of the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays, one of two current Division III player to be drafted this year.
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| Randolph Macon athletics photo |
Snelsire was All-America Second Team by ABCA/Rawlings. He was also All-Region First Team by ABCA/Rawlings and All-State First Team by the Virginia Sports Information Directors. Snelsire posted an 8-2 mark with an ERA of 2.99. He made 12 appearances with 11 starts. Snelsire recorded a pair of complete game shutouts. In 69.1 innings he struck out 107, the third-highest total in program history. His 13.89 strikeouts per nine innings ranked first in the ODAC and sixth in the nation. In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Snelsire tied the program record with 17 strikeouts in a 10-3 victory over St. John Fisher. Over his final three starts, all in postseason play, Snelsire struck out 35 in 22.0 innings.
For his career, Snelsire broke the program record with 237 strikeouts. He was third with 21 career wins, fifth with 33 games started and ninth with a career winning percentage of .750 (21-7).
Snelsire was the third Yellow Jacket to be selected in the MLB Draft in the past five years. Pitcher Nick Roth was chosen by the Baltimore Orioles in the 26th round in 2019. One season earlier, pitcher Colin Selby was taken in the 16th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
RMC head coach Ray Hedrick has had four players drafted. Pitcher Travis Beazley was selected in the 38th round by the Boston Red Sox in 2006.
The Yellow Jackets have had six total players drafted in program history. Pitcher Mike Yearwood went in the 41st round to the Cleveland Indians in 1969. Infielder Jim Bachtell was taken in the 25th round by the Minnesota Twins in 1971.
Will Watson, RHP, Cal Lutheran
Seattle, 20th round, No. 607th overall
Ht.: 6-1. Wt.: 170.
Bats: Right. Throws: Right.
Hometown: Bow, Wash.
Will Watson was drafted by the Seattle Mariners out of San Joaquin Delta College in the 20th round, the 607th overall selection.
Watson played his freshman year for Cal Lutheran and showed an all-around game as a hitter, infielder, and pitcher. At the plate, had a batting average of .247 with seven doubles and two triple. He tallied 14 RBI, 18 runs with 33 total base. On the mound, he pitched 34.2 innings with an ERA of 1.82 with 40 strikeouts (10.38 per game) to just 13 walk and a opponents batting average of .157. He had a fielding percentage of .920 with 28 putouts and 53 assists.
Will Watson showcased his 91-95 mph fastball and effective slider for San Joaquin Delta College. The Univ. of Southern California commit racked up 82 strikeouts in 57.2 innings in the final year for his junior college team. In his final game for SJDC, he would pitch the Mustangs into the second round of the California Community College Athletic Association State Championship with a one hit, three walk, 15 strikeout complete game shutout.