Philadelphia Phillies Select Indiana Outfielder Carter Mathison in 2024 MLB Draft

With the 162nd pick in the fifth round of the 2024 MLB Draft, the Philadelphia Phillies selected Carter Mathison, an outfielder who hit 42 home runs in 182 career games at Indiana.

Jack Ankony | Jul 15, 2024

Indiana outfielder Carter Mathison wears the home run chain. / Xavier Daniels, Indiana Athletics

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – After slugging home runs for the Indiana Hoosiers, Carter Mathison is joining the Philadelphia Phillies organization.

Philadelphia picked Mathison with the No. 162 overall pick in the fifth round of the 2024 MLB Draft on Monday. He's a 6-foot-2 outfielder that bats left and throws left.

Mathison is the third Hoosier taken in this year's draft so far, joining Luke Sinnard (No. 99) and Nick Mitchell (No. 136).

In three seasons at Indiana under coach Jeff Mercer, Mathison became one of the program's top home run hitters of all-time. In 2022, he set the Indiana freshman record with 19 home runs, which ranks sixth on the Hoosiers all-time, single-season charts. That also puts him No. 2 all-time on the Big Ten freshman home run leaderboard. He also earned Freshman All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.

Mathison totaled 42 home runs from 2022-24, making him one of three Hoosiers all-time to hit at least 40 home runs in their first three seasons of college baseball, along with Alex Dickerson and Kyle Schwarber. Mathison could eventually team up with Schwarber, who already has 19 home runs with the Phillies this season.

Following one of the best freshman seasons in program history, Mathison increased his batting average from .273 to .311 during his sophomore seasons. His home run total fell to 10, but he increased his OBP from .393 to .426 and struck out at a lower rate.

Mathison played a key role on an Indiana program that made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances during his sophomore and junior seasons. In 2024, he finished with a .260 batting average, 13 home runs, 44 RBI and a .498 slugging percentage.

Across his Indiana career, Mathison played all three outfield positions and designated hitter. As a junior in 2024, he started 56 games in center field and made the Big Ten All-Tournament team as a center fielder, batting .471 in four games.

Here's the full scouting report on Mathison by MLB.com.

"Mathison surged late in his season as an Indiana high schooler in 2021 to finish among the national prep home run leaders with 16 in 33 games. But he wasn't crosschecked enough to warrant a bonus that would lure him away from his college commitment to Indiana, where he set a school freshman record with 19 homers. Once projected as a top-three-rounds pick, his stock has dropped after his performance dipped the last two years, and he didn't hit for power with wood bats in the Cape Cod League last summer."

"Mathison is a streaky hitter with plus raw power that plays to all parts of the ballpark and gives him 25-homer upside. He doesn't chase or swing and miss excessively, but he takes too many hittable strikes and falls behind in counts, leading to strikeouts. He will draw some walks, but his left-handed swing can get long and uphill, and there are questions about his ability to consistently do damage against pro pitching."

"A 6-foot-2, 215-pounder with quality athleticism, Mathison has plus speed but isn't much of a basestealer. His quickness plays better in center field, where he's a solid to plus defender. With average arm strength, he's capable of playing all three outfield positions."

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