Oregon State Baseball’s second baseman Travis Bazzana was the No. 1 pick in Sunday's 2024 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Bazzana, the Pac-12 Player of the Year, was selected by the Cleveland Guardians as the first overall pick. This was the first time a second baseman has ever been selected in the top spot.
Bazzana becomes the second number one pick from Oregon State in school history. Catcher Adley Rutschman was selected as the number one overall pick by Baltimore in 2019. Bazzana is the ninth Beaver taken all-time by Cleveland, and the first since Steven Kwan in 2018.
A native of Sydney, Australia, Bazzana is the 14th first-rounder from OSU’s program. In three seasons with the Beavers, Bazzana has a .360 batting average. He holds the program’s career record with 220 runs scored, 251 hits, 45 home runs, 52 doubles, 180 walks, and 66 stolen bases. He is tied for the all-time slugging percentage at .660.
Bazzana’s teammate Aiden May was selected in the second round of this year's draft.
May, a right-handed pitcher was taken 70th overall, by the Miami Marlins. May pitched for the Beavers in 2024 after transferring from Arizona. He went 7-1 last season, posting a 3.05 earned run average while striking out 84 batters in 73 2/3 innings.
Beaver Jacob Kmatz was selected in the fifth round, 157th overall, by the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday. The right-handed pitcher led the Beavers with 96 strikeouts this season, and was named the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week three times.
Other Beavers drafted in later rounds were pitcher Bridger Holmes who was selected by the Los Angeles Angels, and infielder Elijah Hainline who was chosen 220th overall. Hainline was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Both Holmes and Hainline heard their names called in the seventh round.
University of Oregon pitcher Brock Moore was also selected in the seventh round. He was chosen by the Seattle Mariners as the 213th overall pick.