ALL-TIME MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS

The Big West had its 13 representatives selected Monday in the 2024 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine each had four selections: right-handed pitcher Matt Ager, right-handed pitcher Ryan Gallagher, catcher Aaron Parker and outfielder Ivan Brethowr for the Gauchos and outfielder Caden Kendle, shortstop Woody Hadeen, outfielder Myles Smith and infielder Dub Gleed for the Anteaters. Two Mustangs and two Tritons had their names called with right-handed pitcher Ryan Forcucci and infielder Matt Halbach for UC San Diego and left-handed pitcher Jakob Wright and Ryan Stafford for Cal Poly. Cal State Fullerton's Christian Rodriguez was the final pick from The Big West on the second day of the 2024 MLB Draft. 
 
Rounds three through 10 of the draft took place on Monday. The draft will conclude with 10 final rounds on Tuesday, July 15, beginning at 11 a.m. PT with live coverage on MLB.com.
 
Forcucci was the first draftee from The Big West, selected with the 101st pick in the third round by the Houston Astros. The Triton righty only made five appearances in 2024 before sitting out the rest of the season with injury, going 2-1 with a 2.16 ERA with 37 strikeouts in 25.0 innings of work. Forcucci was a Perfect Game Midseason All-America Team Third Team, ranked 28th in D1Baseball’s midseason Top-100 MLB Draft prospect rankings and Big West Preseason Coaches’ Team selection. In 2023, Forcucci went 4-1 in 14 appearances and nine starts with a 3.86 ERA and a team-best 68 strikeouts in 53.2 innings and earned All-Big West Second Team honors.
 
Wright’s name was called with the 128th pick in the fourth round by the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Mustang lefty went 9-3 in 15 starts with a 2.97 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 88.0 innings of work, en route to an All-Big West First Team and ABCA All-Region Second Team selections as a redshirt sophomore during the 2024 season.  
 
Last year, Kendle was drafted in the 10th round by the St. Louis Cardinals but elected to return for one final season as the highest-drafted college player to return to college. That decision paid off as the outfielder taken in the fifth round at 159th overall by the Minnesota Twins in this year’s draft. Kendle hit .387 with 61 RBI and 56 runs to earn a spot on the All-Big West First Team for the second straight season. The Huntington Beach product hit .335 with 56 RBI and 69 runs and was the Big West Co-Field Player of the Year in 2023.
 
Stafford was the Baltimore Orioles’ fifth round selection, 160th overall. The 2024 Big West Defensive Player of the Year, Stafford hit .368 with 46 RBI and 49 runs last season. In three years at San Luis Obispo, the Mustang backstop has hit over .300 every year for a .334 career average with 123 RBI and 146 runs, and three All-Big West selections. Stafford was a member of the 2023 U.S. Collegiate National Baseball Team.
 
There were four Big West representatives selected in the sixth round. Ager went to the Pittsburgh Pirates (174th overall), Hadeen was picked by the Detroit Tigers (176th overall), Gallagher’s name was called by the Chicago Cubs (182nd overall) and Parker was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays (187th overall).
 
Ager was an All-Big West Second Team honoree last season after racking up 11 saves out of the bullpen. The righty hurler was a starter in 2023 with a 3.12 ERA and 115 strikeouts in 92.1 innings of work to earn All-Big West First Team, NCBWA All-American and U.S. Collegiate National Baseball Team accolades.
 
After missing the 2023 season due to injury, Hadeen came back to hit .358 with 82 runs, 34 RBI and 12 stolen bases to earn a spot on the All-Big West First Team last season.
 
Gallagher, the 2024 Big West Pitcher of the Year and consensus All-American, went 10-1 with an ERA of 2.22 and WHIP of 0.84 over 14 appearances, all starts, and 89.0 innings for The Big West champion Gauchos. The Granite Bay, Calif., native led the league in ERA, WHIP, opponent batting average (.161) and hits allowed per nine innings (5.06) amongst starters. The Gaucho righty accumulated a conference fourth-most strikeouts (96) and fourth-best strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.84).
 
Parker hit .379 with 12 home runs, 51 RBI and 42 runs to earn a spot on the All-Big West First Team. In three seasons at Santa Barbara, the Los Altos, Calif. product has a .354 career batting average with 86 RBI, 78 runs and 22 home runs.
 
Smith’s name was called in the seventh round, 209th overall by the Cincinnati Reds. The 2024 Big West Field Player of the Year and First Team member had a breakout year and led the league in batting average (.401), on-base percentage (.533), slugging (.637) and OPS (1.170), to go with 10 home runs, 49 RBI and 56 runs scored. Smith was named a Second Team All-American by ABCA.
 
Brethowr was selected by the Chicago Cubs with the 212th pick in the seventh round. The two-time All-Big West First Team outfielder hit .275 with 15 home runs, 39 RBI and 38 runs last season. In two seasons at Santa Barbara, Brethowr has a .292 career batting average with 26 home runs, 79 RBI and 73 runs.
 
Gleed was picked 274th overall in the ninth round by the Miami Marlins. The Ladera Ranch, Calif. native batted .351 with 35 RBI and 23 runs in limited action this last season for the Anteaters and was an All-Big West honoree.
 
The Chicago Cubs took Halback with the 302nd pick in the 10th round. The Triton infielder only played in 19 games, but did enough to impress with a .408 batting average, 18 RBI and 23 runs. Halbach was an All-Big West First Team member in 2023 with a .306 batting average, 39 Rbi and 41 runs.
 
Rodriguez was the final selection from The Big West during the second day of the 2024 MLB Draft, getting called with the 309th pick in the 10th round by the Baltimore Orioles. The Titan righty made 15 appearances, 12 starts, with 58 strikeouts in 69.1 innings of work.