Third-Round Pick Apparently Spurns Angels, Heads Back to College

Maren Angus-Coombs | Jul 25, 2024

Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

It appears that Ryan Prager is running it back to College Station for another season of baseball at Texas A&M rather than signing with the Los Angeles Angels.

The lefty out of Dallas announced Wednesday that he will be forgoing his professional selection and returning to Aggieland for the 2025 season.

He was drafted in the third round of the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft. Per Baseball America, Prager ranked as the No. 66 prospect in the class and the fifth-best college lefthander (including two-way player Jac Caglianone) after consistently pitching at a high level in 2024 for the Aggies.

Angels 3rd round pick seemingly not signing with the Angels. https://t.co/XyAASD9cGH

— Sam Blum (@SamBlum3) July 24, 2024

The redshirt sophomore emerged as the ace for the Aggies this season, starting in 19 games and pitching 97.2 innings. He went 9-1, striking out 124 batters and ending the year with a 2.95 ERA. Prager was a Second Team All-SEC selection and a Second Team All-American.

The 21-year-old made 16 starts during his 2022 freshman season then missed the entire 2023 season with an injury, making him a redshirt sophomore in 2024. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

The southpaw became the first player selected in the first 10 rounds of the 2024 draft to announce his decision to not sign. That means the Angels lose the assigned slot value from their bonus pool allotment.

Because he is a top-three round pick, the Angels are protected with compensation picks in the following draft for unsigned players.

The Angels had a total bonus pool of $12,990,400 before the draft, but without the slot value for their third-round selection, that total falls to $12,041,800.