NJCAA Baseball in the 2021 MLB Draft
Charlotte, NC - NJCAA Baseball was well represented in the 2021 MLB Draft as more than 100 current or former NJCAA student-athletes heard their names called on the sport's biggest stage.
NJCAA DI Baseball Pitcher of the Year Logan Henderson was the association's first current student-athlete to hear his name called. Henderson was selected as the 116th overall pick in the draft by the Milwaukee Brewers in the fourth of 20 rounds. Prior to entering the draft, the Texas A&M commit led McLennan (TX) to claim the 2021 NJCAA DI Baseball World Series title. In the championship game, the right-hander totaled 17 strikeouts and surrendered one run over eight innings. Henderson compiled a nation-leading 169 strikeouts during his freshman campaign with the Highlanders.
Florida SouthWestern led the way with an NJCAA-best four current student-athletes drafted. The Buccaneers' strong presence on the mound during the 2021 NJCAA Baseball season was reflected during the draft with four Florida SouthWestern pitchers selected.
Thirteen of the 38 current student-athletes that were drafted earned NJCAA Baseball All-America honors.
| Current NJCAA Student-Athletes in the 2021 MLB Draft | |||||||
| Name | NJCAA Member College | Position | Round | Pick | MLB Team | ||
| Logan Henderson | McLennan (TX) | RHP | 4 | 116 | Brewers | ||
| Mason Auer | San Jacinto (TX) | OF/RHP | 5 | 161 | Rays | ||
| Dayton Dooney | Central Arizona | INF | 6 | 169 | Royals | ||
| Carlos Rodrigez | Florida SouthWestern | P | 6 | 177 | Brewers | ||
| Christian McGowan | Eastern Oklahoma State | RHP | 7 | 205 | Phillies | ||
| Hunter Parks | Florence Darlington Tech (SC) | RHP | 8 | 240 | Reds | ||
| Mat Olsen | Central Arizona | RHP | 9 | 266 | Giants | ||
| Alex Ayala | Florida SouthWestern | LHP | 9 | 281 | Rays | ||
| CJ Widger | RCSJ-Gloucester (NJ) | LHP | 10 | 284 | Rangers | ||
| Marc Davis | Florida SouthWestern | RHP | 11 | 323 | Nationals | ||
| Andrew Baker | Chipola (FL) | RHP | 11 | 325 | Phillies | ||
| Shawn Guilliams | Central Florida | RHP | 11 | 330 | Reds | ||
| Johnny Cuevas | Southern Nevada | RHP/INF | 12 | 371 | Rays | ||
| Ronan Kopp | South Mountain (AZ) | LHP | 12 | 372 | Dodgers | ||
| Thomas Ireland | Polk State (FL) | RHP | 13 | 374 | Rangers | ||
| Josh Swales | Southern Nevada | RHP | 13 | 378 | Diamondbacks | ||
| Patrick Hallogan | Pensacola State (FL) | RHP | 13 | 379 | Royals | ||
| Colby Smelley | Shelton State (AL) | C | 13 | 395 | White Sox | ||
| Kobe Robinson | Chattanooga State (TN) | RHP | 13 | 400 | Padres | ||
| Antonio Knowles | Florida SouthWestern | RHP | 13 | 402 | Dodgers | ||
| Tucker Mitchell | State College of Florida | C | 14 | 404 | Rangers | ||
| Andrew Moore | Chipola (FL) | RHP | 14 | 414 | Mariners | ||
| Damiano Palmegiani | Southern Nevada | INF | 14 | 422 | Blue Jays | ||
| Hunter Hollan | San Jacinto (TX) | P | 15 | 447 | Brewers | ||
| Ty Collins | Glendale (AZ) | P | 16 | 475 | Phillies | ||
| Owen Holts | Alvin (TX) | P | 16 | 480 | Reds | ||
| Cole Ayers | State College of Florida | P | 16 | 483 | Yankees | ||
| Kris Anglin | Howard (TX) | P | 16 | 487 | Braves | ||
| Luis Guerrero | Chipola (FL) | P | 17 | 496 | Red Sox | ||
| Austin Callahan | Hutchinson (KS) | INF | 18 | 540 | Reds | ||
| Riggs Threadgill | McLennan (TX) | P | 19 | 563 | Nationals | ||
| Juan Gonzalez | Miami Dade (FL) | C | 19 | 572 | Blue Jays | ||
| Jaylen Nowlin | Chipola (FL) | P | 19 | 579 | Twins | ||
| Gabriel Rincomes | St. Petersburg (FL) | OF | 19 | 580 | Padres | ||
| Brenden Dixon | Weatherford (TX) | INF | 20 | 583 | Pirates | ||
| J.D. McLaughlin | Central Arizona | OF | 20 | 585 | Tigers | ||
| Trendon Craig | Louisburg (NC) | OF | 20 | 587 | Orioles | ||
| Samuel Mendez | Cisco (TX) | RHP | 20 | 597 | Brewers | ||
Former Central Arizona southpaw Ky Bush was the first draftee with NJCAA ties to be selected in the 2021 MLB Draft. Bush's name was called in the second round by the Los Angeles Angels as the 45th overall pick. In his lone season as a Vaquero, which was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bush claimed five wins on the mound during seven appearances with 43 strikeouts. As a junior at St. Mary's, Bush led the West Coast Conference with 112 strikeouts over 14 starts.
State College of Florida's alumni saw success in the draft as six former Mantatees were selected. Multiple NJCAA Baseball alums were drafted Blinn, Central Arizona, Central Florida, Iowa Western, John A. Logan, Northwest Florida State, San Jacinto, Santa Fe, St. Johns River State, and Yavapai.
Seven former NJCAA Baseball All-America honorees were drafted from four-year institutions.
| Former NJCAA Student-Athletes in the 2021 MLB Draft | ||||||||
| Name | NJCAA Member College | Position | Four-Year College | Round | Pick | MLB Team | ||
| Ky Bush | Central Arizona | LFP | St. Mary's | 2 | 45 | Angels | ||
| Dominic Hamel | Yavapai (AZ) | RHP | Dallas Baptist | 3 | 81 | Mets | ||
| Dylan Dodd | Kankakee (IL) | LHP | Southeast Missouri | 3 | 96 | Braves | ||
| Cade Povich | South Mountain (AZ) | LHP | Nebraska | 3 | 98 | Twins | ||
| Bryce Miller | Blinn (TX) | RHP | Texas A&M | 4 | 113 | Mariners | ||
| Chad Dallas | Panola (TX) | RHP | Tennessee | 4 | 121 | Blue Jays | ||
| Cooper Bowman | Iowa Western | INF | Louisville | 4 | 122 | Yankees | ||
| Christian Encarnacion-Strand | Yavapai (AZ) | INF | Oklahoma State | 4 | 128 | Twins | ||
| Jackson Glenn | Grayson (TX) | INF | Dallas Baptist | 5 | 133 | Pirates | ||
| Tanner Kohlhepp | Iowa Western | RHP | Notre Dame | 5 | 135 | Tigers | ||
| Carlos Tavera | Weatherford (TX) | RHP | UT-Arlington | 5 | 137 | Orioles | ||
| Thomas Farr | Northwest Florida State | RHP | South Carolina | 5 | 150 | Reds | ||
| Liam Spence | Central Arizona | INF | Tennessee | 5 | 154 | Cubs | ||
| Austin Murr | Des Moines Area (IA) | OF | NC State | 6 | 165 | Tigers | ||
| Jake Smith | State College of Florida | RHP | Miami | 6 | 171 | Angels | ||
| Spencer Arrighetti | Navarro (TX) | RHP | Louisiana Lafayette | 6 | 178 | Astros | ||
| Justice Thompson | Northwest Florida State | OF | North Carolina | 6 | 180 | Reds | ||
| Taylor Broadway | Tyler (TX) | RHP | Mississippi | 6 | 185 | White Sox | ||
| Tristan Peters | Chandler-Gilbert (AZ) | OF | SIU-Carbondale | 7 | 207 | Brewers | ||
| Brett Harris | Central Arizona | INF | Gonzaga | 7 | 218 | A's | ||
| Colton Gordon | Hillsborough (FL) | LHP | Central Florida | 8 | 238 | Astros | ||
| Luke Brown | John A. Logan (IL) | OF | Lousiville | 9 | 253 | Pirates | ||
| Liam Hicks | Mineral Area (MO) | C | Arkansas State | 9 | 254 | Rangers | ||
| Tyler Miller | East Mississippi | INF | Auburn | 9 | 256 | Red Sox | ||
| Jake Rice | Gulf Coast State (FL) | LHP | Kennesaw State | 9 | 258 | Diamondbacks | ||
| Levi David | McLennan (TX) | RHP | Northwestern (LA) | 9 | 262 | Mets | ||
| Spencer Packard | Arizona Western | OF | Campbell | 9 | 264 | Mariners | ||
| Brannon Jordan | Cowley (KS) | RHP | South Carolina | 9 | 267 | Brewers | ||
| Aaron Brown | State College of Florida | P | Middle Tennessee State | 9 | 268 | Astros | ||
| Chase Watkins | Central Florida | LHP | Oregon State | 9 | 274 | Cubs | ||
| Andrew Peters | John A. Logan (IL) | RHP | South Carolina | 10 | 291 | Angels | ||
| Jordan Jackson | Spartanburg Methodist (SC) | RHP | Georgia Southern | 10 | 294 | Mariners | ||
| Hunter Perdue | State College of Florida | RHP | Florida State | 10 | 299 | Marlins | ||
| Donovan Benoit | Santa Fe (FL) | RHP | Tulane | 10 | 300 | Reds | ||
| Franco Aleman | St. Johns River State (FL) | RHP | Florida | 10 | 306 | Indians | ||
| Josh Crouch | State College of Florida | C | UCF | 11 | 315 | Tigers | ||
| Chase Silseth | Southern Nevada | RHP | Arizona | 11 | 321 | Angels | ||
| Mach Chambers | Seminole State (OK) | INF | New Mexico | 11 | 331 | Cardinals | ||
| Jack Neely | Iowa Western | RHP | Ohio State | 11 | 333 | Yankees | ||
| Hunter Stanley | Meridian (MS) | RHP | Southern Miss | 11 | 336 | Indians | ||
| Brandon Birdsell | San Jacinto (TX) | RHP | Texas Tech | 11 | 339 | Twins | ||
| Justin Wrobleski | State College of Florida | LHP | Oklahoma State | 11 | 342 | Dodgers | ||
| Jackson Leath | Blinn (TX) | RHP | Tennessee | 12 | 344 | Rangers | ||
| Corey Rosier | Chipola (FL) | OF | UNC Greensboro | 12 | 354 | Mariners | ||
| Rhett Kouba | North Central Texas | RHP | Dallas Baptist | 12 | 358 | Astors | ||
| Johnny Ray | John A. Logan (IL) | RHP | TCU | 12 | 365 | White Sox | ||
| Andrew Hoffmann | John A. Logan (IL) | RHP | Illinois | 12 | 367 | Braves | ||
| Mitch Meyers | Florida SouthWestern | RHP | Pittsburgh | 12 | 368 | A's | ||
| Jacob Webb | Sinclair (OH) | P | Miami (OH) | 14 | 406 | Red Sox | ||
| Channy Ortiz | Yavapai (AZ) | INF | Grand Canyon | 14 | 408 | Diamondbacks | ||
| Bryant Salgado | San Jacinto (TX) | RHP | Oregon State | 14 | 418 | Astros | ||
| Jonny Butler | Heartland (IL) | OF | NC State | 14 | 428 | A's | ||
| Tyler Samaniego | Northeast Mississippi | P | South Alabama | 15 | 433 | Pirates | ||
| River Towns | LSU Eunice (LA) | OF | Dallas Baptist | 15 | 439 | Royals | ||
| Connor Angel | Northwest Florida State | P | Louisiana Lafayette | 15 | 461 | Rays | ||
| Anthony Simonelli | St. Johns River State (FL) | P | Virginia Tech | 16 | 469 | Royals | ||
| Ivan Melendez | Odessa (TX) | INF | Texas | 16 | 479 | Marlins | ||
| Aaron McKeithan | State College of Florida | C | Charlotte | 16 | 481 | Cardinals | ||
| Jarrod Cande | Santa Fe (FL) | OF | Florida Southern | 17 | 500 | Rockies | ||
| Justin Fall | Brookdale (NJ) | LHP | Arizona State | 17 | 509 | Marlins | ||
| Adam Tulloch | Central Florida | LHP | West Virginia | 17 | 522 | Dodgers | ||
| Ben Malgeri | New Mexico | OF | Northeastern | 18 | 525 | Tigers | ||
| Phillip Sikes | Pima (AZ) | OF | TCU | 18 | 526 | Red Sox | ||
| Harrison Beethe | North Iowa Area | RHP | TCU | 18 | 529 | Royals | ||
| Malik Binns | Waubonsee (IL) | P | Benveu Mesa | 18 | 535 | Phillies | ||
| Cam Williams | San Jacinto (TX) | INF | Texas | 19 | 559 | Royals | ||
| Ross Carver | Crowder (MO) | P | Dallas Baptist | 20 | 588 | Diamondbacks | ||
| Cam Wayne | Johnson County (KS) | RHP | Nebraska | 20 | 595 | Phillies | ||
| Javi Rivera | Indian River State (FL) | RHP | Florida Atlantic | 20 | 600 | Reds | ||
