Chad Patrick, of Purdue Northwest, was the first former DII baseball player off the board at the 2021 MLB draft. He was just one of the 22 DII baseball alumni selected on Day 2 or 3 of this year's draft.
RANKINGS: The final DII baseball Power 10 of the 2021 season
Patrick wasn't merely the first DII baseball player to be picked — he was the first in his school's history to ever be selected in the MLB draft. The very next DII pick — Quincy's ace, Riley Martin — made program history himself, becoming the highest a Hawk was ever selected.
Pitchers were the most common pick. Of the 18 pitchers selected this year, 13 were right-handed and five were southpaws. Outfielder Vaun Brown out of Florida Southern was the first position player off the board, selected by the San Francisco Giants in the tenth round. Azusa Pacific's sharp-hitting third baseman Osvaldo Tovalin was picked shortly after in the same 10th round. Florida Southern's Jacob Teter and Shepherd's Jared Carr were the other position players.
Speaking of Florida Southern, the Mocs led the way with three picks. The conference breakdown was as follows:
- GLIAC: 1
- GLVC: 1
- GSC: 1
- LSC: 2
- MIAA: 4
- NSIC: 1
- PSAC: 2
- SAC: 1
- SSC: 5
- PacWest: 3
- PBC: 1
MLB draft: Schools with the most first round picks
That one South Atlantic Conference player is national champion Hunter Dula. Dula was pivotal in the Wingate Bulldogs title run as a versatile two-way player. He hit .262 with a .934 OPS, eight doubles and nine home runs, but the San Francisco Giants probably like him better as a pitcher. The righty went 7-2 with a 3.38 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 64 innings.
HISTORY: Wingate wins its first-ever DII baseball championship
A slew of teams grabbed two DII players. The St. Louis Cardinals took their two in back-to-back rounds, with Angelo State's ace Trent Baker going in the ninth and Tovalin being drafted in the tenth. The Giants, Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies, Tampa Bay Rays and Philadelphia Phillies also took a pair of DII alum.
DII baseball players selected in the 2021 MLB draft
| Round | Player | Position | School | MLB team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4th | Chad Patrick | RHP | Purdue Northwest | Arizona Diamondbacks |
| 6th | Riley Martin | LHP | Quincy | Chicago Cubs |
| 7th | Logan Workman | RHP | Lee | Tampa Bay Rays |
| 8th | Larson Kindreich | LHP | Biola | Texas Rangers |
| 9th | Trent Baker | RHP | Angelo State | St. Louis Cardinals |
| 10th | Vaun Brown | OF | Florida Southern | San Francisco Giants |
| 10th | Osvaldo Tovalin | 3B | Azusa Pacific | St. Louis Cardinals |
| 10th | Dylan Spain | RHP | Hawaii Hilo | Atlanta Braves |
| 11th | Dylan Heid | RHP | Pitt-Johnstown | Baltimore Orioles |
| 11th | River Ryan | RHP | UNC Pembroke | San Diego Padres |
| 12th | Mason Green | LHP | Central Missouri | Colorado Rockies |
| 13th | Jacob Teter | 1B | Florida Southern | Baltimore Orioles |
| 13th | Jared Carr | OF | Shepherd | Philadelphia Phillies |
| 14th | Jordan Leasure | RHP | Tampa | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| 15th | Blake Holub | RHP | St. Edward's | Detroit Tigers |
| 15th | Matt Osterberg | LHP | St. Cloud State | Philadelphia Phillies |
| 15th | Luke Anderson | RHP | Central Oklahoma | Oakland A's |
| 16th | Nic Swanson | RHP | Northeastern State | Houston Astros |
| 17th | Jarrod Cande | RHP | Florida Southern | Colorado Rockies |
| 17th | Conor Dryer | RHP | Central Missouri | Tampa Bay Rays |
| 18th | Hunter Dula | RHP | Wingate | San Francisco Giants |
| 18th | Jimmy Burnette | LHP | Saint Leo | Toronto Blue Jays |
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