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No Wolfpack Baseball Recruits Taken in MLB Draft

None of NC State's 2020 baseball recruits were selected in this week's MLB draft, meaning that coach Elliott Avent's entire class -- including several players that would have had decisions to make had the draft not been shortened -- is likely to arrive intact this fall

Brett Friedlander

It's yet to be seen how many players already in the program will return to NC State's baseball team next season after being left out of the abbreviated five-round Major League draft this week.

One thing is almost a certainty.

Coach Elliott Avent's 2021 recruiting class will likely arrive intact.

Only three high school players from North Carolina were selected in draft, which was shortened from its traditional 40 rounds as a cost-cutting measure brought about by the ongoing coronavirus shutdown.

Two -- third-round pick Liam Norris of Cary's Green Hope High School and fifh-rounder Jagger Haynes of West Columbus -- are committed to North Carolina. Panther Creek's Keon Moreno, who also went in the fifth round -- was headed to East Carolina.

State would almost certainly have added to that list had the draft gone on longer. Four players that have pledged to the Wolfpack -- John Miralia, Coby Ingle, Eddie Eisert and Cooper Payne -- were listed by MLB.com as likely draftees.

As it is, none of State's 14 committed players will be faced with the decision of signing a professional contract out of high school or playing college ball.

Here is a look at all of the Wolfpack commitments, as reported by PerfectGame.com:

  • Miralia: A hard-throwing 6-foot-7, 250-pound left-hander from Providence Day School in Charlotte who has been clocked at 91 MPH. PerfectGame ranks him at 9.5 on the 10-point scale is uses for prospects. There's a good chance he would have been a top-10 round pick had he draft gone on that long.
  • Ingle: A 6-2, 180-pound righty from Rockingham County High School, he can also bring it -- having hit 92 MPH on the radar gun. He is rated as a 9.0 prospect by PerfectGame.
  • Eisert: An athletic 6-2, 195-pound switch-hitting infielder from Bishop O'Connell High School in Fairfax Station, Va., he is rated as a 9.5 prospect by PerfectGame. Able to play either short or third, he's a strong defensive player who has shown better bat speed and power from the right side of the plate. 
  • Payne: Another big youngster at 6-7, though at just 180 pounds, his build is a lot more slender than Miralia. He can still hit 90 on the radar gun and can also play first base. He's from The Miller School of Albemarle in Charlottesville, Va.
  • Cameron Arnold: 5-11, 170-pound left-handed pitcher from Lake Norman HS in Mooresville
  • Trey Cooper: 5-11, 195-pound left-handed pitcher from Randlesman HS
  • Carson Falsken: 5-10, 170-pound infielder from Newbury Park HS in Newbury Park, Calif.
  • Drew Fletcher: 6-0, 184-pound right-handed pitcher from Falls Lake Academy in Butner
  • Jake Harwood: 6-0, 190-pound infielder from Whiteville HS
  • Cooper King: 6-3, 190-pound right-handed pitcher from Orange HS in Ceader Grove
  • Tristan Sipple: 5-10, 170-pound left-handed pitcher from Madison HS in Middletown, Ohio
  • Casey Devine: 6-3, 180-pound catcher from North Mecklenburg HS in Charlotte

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