Hoosiers Now

Indiana Pitcher McCade Brown Drafted in 3rd Round by Colorado Rockies

McCade Brown was a key piece of Indiana's dominant pitching staff this season, and that helped him become a high draft pick on Monday. He was taken in the third round by the Colorado Rockies with the 79th overall pick.

Tom Brew

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Hard-throwing Indiana pitcher McCade Brown was picked in the third round of the 2021 MLB Draft on Monday, going with the 79th overall pick to the Colorado Rockies.

"I'm super excited about going to Colorado. This moment, it's like a dream come true,'' Brown said by phone while surrounded with family and friends. 

Brown, a Normal., Ill., native, pitched for three seasons with the Hoosiers, and really came into his own during the 2021 season. Anchored into the rotation for the first time, he made 12 starts and had a 5-4 record with a 3.39 earned run average and was an important piece of an Indiana pitching staff that finished No. 3 in the country in earned run average.

Brown went earlier than the experts expected. He was ranked in the low 100s, but went 79th. The Rockies, who need pitching badly, targeted him from the beginning and were thrilled to get him.

"The Rockies have been pretty interested throughout this process, and they've talked to my agent (Sam Samardzija) a few times,'' Brown said. "When their pick was coming up, I was really keeping an eye on the TV, but then I started to get a few texts, so I knew it was done.

"It was really exciting, and it's great to be able to spend the day with my family and friends all here around me.''

Since Indiana's season ended in late May, Brown has been back home in Normal, Ill., working out and getting ready for the draft. He got calls from the Rockies' player development people and their area scout, and he said he and his agent will work with the Rockies quickly to get a deal done. 

Picks are slotted in the MLB Draft, and signing bonus money is assigned to each spot in the early rounds of the draft. Teams can offer less – some offer much less – but Brown's No. 79 spot has a maximum signing price tag of $780,400.

Brown is the 105th all-time draft pick at Indiana and 18th player to be picked in the top five rounds in school history.

Brown said his three years have meant a lot to him, especially this season where he once struck out 16 batters in a game on March 13 against Penn State to tie a school record. He was conference and national pitcher of the week that week. He also combined with Brayden Tucker to throw a no-hitter against Illinois on April 10, the first Indiana no-hitter since 1984. 

Brown is an All-Big Ten second-team honoree this season and led the Big Ten and was sixth in the nation in strikeout per nine innings (14.31). He led the league in opposing batting average (.164) and was fifth in the conference in strikeouts (97). 

"I can't say enough about what the people at IU mean to me. It's always going to be a special place for me,'' Brown said. "Coach (Jeff) Mercer and (pitching coach (Justin) Parker have always been there for me, and not just with baseball. I could always turn to them for anything. 

"IU is a great place and I will always cherish my time there. We had a great group of guys this year and we really had a lot of fun and did a lot of good things. After not performing very well  those first two years, it was great to contribute so much this year.

Published
Tom Brew
TOM BREW

Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist who has worked at some of America's finest newspapers as a reporter and editor, including the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, the Indianapolis Star and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered college sports in the digital platform for the past six years, including the last five years as publisher of HoosiersNow on the FanNation/Sports Illustrated network.

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