LSU finishes MLB draft with a school-record 13 players picked

Apparently, LSU’s 2023 national championship baseball team had one last record to break.

The Tigers finished with a school-record single-draft record of 13 players chosen in the 20-round major league baseball draft that concluded Tuesday afternoon.

It also matched the SEC record for most players drafted from one team in a single draft held by Vanderbilt (2019), Kentucky (2018) and Texas A&M (2016).

The previous LSU record was 10 players selected in 2013.

LSU had seven players picked in the final 10 rounds after having six selected in the first 10 rounds. The Tigers had eight pitchers and five position players drafted.

Players selected Tuesday were pitcher Garrett Edwards in the 10thn round by Tampa Bay, pitcher Blake Money by Baltimore and outfielder Brayden Jobert by St. Louis both in the 12th round, pitcher Riley Cooper by Baltimore in the 13th round, shortstop Jordan Thompson by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 15th round, pitcher Javen Coleman by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 16th round and pitcher Christian Little by the New York Mets in the 19th round.

Here's a look at LSU’s 13 drafted players:

1st Round

No. 1 P Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates: Led all of college baseball in strikeouts (209), strikeouts per nine innings (15.33), WHIP (0.75) and was tied for No. 1 games started (19), No. 2 in the nation in ERA (1.69). Was Dick Howser Trophy winner for best Division 1 player, was the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper National Player of the Year, D1 Baseball National Player of the Year and the College World Series Most Outstanding Player.

No. 2 OF Dylan Crews, Washington Nationals: Started in all 196 games of his three-year LSU career with career stats of a .380 batting average (286-for-753) career hitter at LSU with 43 doubles, eight triples, 58 homers, 184 RBIs, 237 runs, 152 walks, 23 stolen bases. Was No. 1 in the nation this season in runs scored (100) and walks (71), No. 2 in on-base percentage (.567) and base hits (110), No. 3 in batting average (.426), No. 4 in runs per game (1.41) and No. 8 in total bases (184). Won the Golden Spikes Award as college baseball's top player, the Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger and a two-time. SEC Player of the Year.

Competitive Balance Round A

No. 38 P Ty Floyd, Cincinnati Reds: Was 7-0 this season with a 4.35 ERA in 91 innings, recording 37 walks and 120 strikeouts. He finished No. 4 in the SEC in strikeouts (120) and No. 5 in the league in opponent batting average (.208), and his strikeouts total (120) placed him No. 12 in the nation. Voted to the 2023 College World Series all-tournament team.

Round 2

No. 51 P Grant Taylor, Chicago White Sox: Didn't pitch this season after sustaining an elbow injury in February. Pitched in 17 games (two starts) as a true freshman in 2022, recording a 4-1 mark and a 5.81 ERA in 31.0 innings with 21 walks and 39 strikeouts.

Round 3

No. 88 1B/OF Tre’ Morgan, Tampa Bay Rays: Played and started in 194 career games in three seasons (2021-23), batting .332 (256-for-771) with 49 doubles, nine triples, 20 homers, 149 RBIs and 180 runs. This season as a junior, he batted .316 (85-for-269) with 15 doubles, four triples, nine homers, 53 RBIs and 66 runs. He finished No. 2 in the SEC in triples, No. 2 in sacrifice flies (8), No. 5 in hit-by-pitch (18), No. 8 in hits and No. 9 in runs scored. Was voted to the 2023 College World Series All-Tournament team.

Round 6

No. 165, 2B Gavin Dugas, Washington Nationals: Had a solid five-season career (2019-2023), appearing in 201 games (178 starts). He batted .287 (179-for-623) with 35 doubles, five triples, 44 homers, 148 RBIs, 161 runs and a school-record 68 hit-by-pitch. He finished his career No. 10 on the LSU all-time list for homers. This season he batted .290 (65-for-224) in 2023 with 12 homers, two triples, 17 homers, 46 RBIs and 74 runs, starting 66 games at second base. He finished No. 1 in the nation in hit-by-pitch with a school-record 33 on the year. Was voted to the 2023 College World Series All-Tournament team.

11th Round

No. 333 P Garrett Edwards, Tampa Bay Rays: Made 43 career appearances (three starts) from 2021-23, posting a 6-2 record and a 3.29 ERA in 68.1 innings with 23 walks and 70 strikeouts. Pitched effectively in 10 relief appearances this season before suffering a season-ending elbow injury on April 7 at South Carolina. Was 4-0 record and a 1.93 ERA in 23.1 innings with five walks, 27 strikeouts and a .184 opponent batting average.

12th Round

No. 361 P Blake Money, Baltimore Orioles: Pitched in 51 games (16 starts) in three seasons (2021-23), recording 118 strikeouts in 123.2 innings. This season, he appeared in 20 games (two starts) in 2023, posting a 1-0 record and a 5.97 ERA in 34.2 innings with 12 walks and 30 strikeouts.

No. 365 OF Brayden Jobert, St. Louis Cardinals: In his two seasons at LSU after transferring from Delgado Community College, he batted a combined .273 (107-for-392) with 21 doubles, three triples, 32 homers, 107 RBIs and 86 runs. This past season, he played in 60 games (51 starts), batting .301 (58-for-193) with 11 doubles, two triples, 14 homers, 49 RBIs and 40 runs scored. He started 34 games in right field, eight games in left field, six games at third base and three games at DH.

13th Round

No. 391 P Riley Cooper, Baltimore Orioles: After transferring from Arizona before the 2022 season, he made 62 LSU appearances (four starts), posting a 9-6 record and a 4.31 ERA in 102.1 innings with 28 walks and 98 strikeouts. He led the LSU staff this season with 32 appearances (three starts), and he recorded a 5-3 mark with a 4.38 ERA in 61.2 innings with three saves, 20 walks and 63 strikeouts. He was brilliant in the College World Series, making five relief appearances in LSU’s eight games and posting a 1-0 mark, three saves and a 0.93 ERA in 9.2 innings with three walks and nine strikeouts.

15th Round

No. 460 SS Jordan Thompson, Los Angeles Dodgers: For three seasons (2021-23), he appeared in 195 games (194 starts) with a career batting average of .260 (179-for-688) and 30 doubles, two triples, 25 homers, 115 RBIs and 136 runs scored. Started all 71 games at shortstop this season and batted .246 (63-for-256) with 12 doubles, one triple, 11 homers, 53 RBIs, seven steals and 50 runs.

16th Round

No. 490 P Javen Coleman, Los Angeles Dodgers: After undergoing Tommy John surgery in March 2022, he returned to the mound in April. Appeared in eight games (four starts), posting a 1-2 record and in 14.0 innings with 16 walks and 21 strikeouts. He started on the mound in LSU’s College World Series win over Wake Forest on June 21, recording two strikeouts in 1.1 innings of work. Has career stats of 25 career games (six starts), recording a 5-4 mark and 70 strikeouts in 52.2 innings.

19th Round

No. 576 P Christian Little, New York Mets: Transferred to LSU this season after playing two years at Vanderbilt. Little made 19 appearances (eight starts) on the mound with Tigers, going 2-2 with two saves and 42 strikeouts in 34.2 innings.