MLB Draft: Oregon State's Travis Bazzana Selected #1 Overall By Cleveland Guardians
With the first overall pick of the 2024 MLB Draft, the Cleveland Guardians selected Oregon State's Travis Bazzana on Sunday. Named the top prospect in the draft according to MLB Pipeline and the second best prospect by Baseball America, The Sydney native is now going pro.
In 2024, Bazzana slashed .407/.568/.911/1.479 with 28 home runs and 66 RBIs. He was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year for the 2024 season along with becoming the sixth unanimous first-team All-American in Oregon State History.
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Along with his unanimous selection as a first-team All-American, Bazzana becomes the first Australian to ever be selected in the first round of the MLB Draft.
Bazzana becomes the first Oregon State Beaver since Cooper Hjerpe in 2022 to go in the first round of the draft. It's the 12th time that an Oregon State player has been selected in the first round.
Perhaps more notably, he's the second Beaver ever to be selected first overall and the first Beaver since Adley Rutschman in 2019.
Bazzana led the Beavers to a record of 45-16 and a berth in the Super Regional round of the NCAA tournament.
Kevin Barral joined SI in 2023 as part of G5 Football Daily. He covers the FIU Panthers, Conference USA football, and college baseball for the On SI network. Kevin's work has also been featured on Fish On First and with the Paws Up Podcast. Currently studying communications at FIU, Kevin brings an academic perspective to his coverage. His focus on FIU sports aligns with his education and personal interests, providing in-depth insights into the teams and players he writes about.