Four Players From NC State Selected On Day Two Of MLB Draft

NC State baseball saw four of its players selected on the second day of the 2021 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft, as Tyler McDonough, Jose Torres, Evan Justice, and Austin Murr were all taken off the board on Monday afternoon.

Under the leadership of head coach Elliott Avent, 116 players have now been selected in the MLB Draft, including 43 since 2014.

McDonough was the Wolfpack’s first player to get drafted on Monday, as he was selected in the third round as the 75th overall pick to the Boston Red Sox, while Torres was also taken in the third round as the 89th overall pick to the Cincinnati Reds. Additionally, Justice was taken as the 140th selection in the fifth round to the Colorado Rockies and Murr was the 165th pick in the sixth round to the Detroit Tigers.

This is the first time NC State has ever had four players taken in the first six rounds of the draft. Additionally, the program has now had 24 players selected in the first six rounds under Avent.

 The 2021 MLB Draft will conclude Tuesday with rounds 11-20 at 12 p.m. on MLB.com.

TYLER MCDONOUGH | ROUND 3, PICK 75 – BOSTON RED SOX

McDonough was one of the most consistent players in the nation this year, holding an NCAA-best 53-game reached base streak that went from the beginning of the 2020 season until May 11 and reached safely in 53 of the 55 games he played in this year. He finished second on the team with a .339 clip and led the squad with 79 hits, 58 runs scored, 21 doubles, and 15 home runs.

He earned Second Team All-ACC, DI Baseball Third Team All-America, and ABCA/Rawlings Second Team All-Region honors this season.

Impressively, McDonough reached base safely in 92 percent of the games he played in throughout his career and tallied at least one hit in 78 percent of those games. He also made just one career error in center field.

JOSE TORRES | ROUND 3, PICK 89 – CINCINNATI REDS

Torres, who was tabbed as one of the top defensive shortstops in the NCAA this season, made 50 starts in 52 games played this season at the position. He showed off his power in his first full season with the Pack with 10 home runs, .533 slugging percentage, and 44 runs batted in.

His 10th home run of the season came in the winner-take-all game at top-seeded Arkansas in the NCAA Super Regional, as it proved to be the game-winning run that sent the Wolfpack to its first College World Series since 2013.

A First Team All-ACC and Freshman All-ACC selection, Torres made eight errors this season and just 10 in his career (69 games) at shortstop.

EVAN JUSTICE | ROUND 5, PICK 140 – COLORADO ROCKIES

Justice, who was named an All-American by two publications and tabbed a Third Team All-ACC and All-ACC Academic Team honoree, served as a part of the Pack’s starting rotation in the early part of the season but transitioned back into a reliever role in the latter part. From March 29 to the conclusion of the season, he made 20 appearances out of the bullpen and compiled a 1.85 ERA in 43.2 innings with four wins and 13 saves.

 His 13 saves ranked second in the ACC and fourth in the NCAA. Additionally, that number stands as the third-most in a single season in program history and seventh-most in a career in program history.

AUSTIN MURR | ROUND 6, PICK 165 – DETROIT TIGERS

Murr made 53 starts in 54 appearances this season, missing just two games due to injury.

A Second-Team All-ACC recipient and Gold Glove Award winner, the first baseman slashed .319/.504/.376 on the year and finished among the top three on the team in five different offensive categories, highlighted by a team-leading 21 doubles and three triples. He was an essential piece to the Wolfpack’s postseason run, as he batted .351 (13-for-37) through nine games and scored a team-leading seven runs.

 In his Wolfpack career, he did not make an error in 71 games played (70 starts).