PHOENIX – Sun Devil Baseball continued its historic success in the MLB Draft with four more members of the Maroon and Gold hearing their names called in the 2024 edition this week.
The four selections brought ASU's all-time MLB Draft picks to 477, including secondary phase and January drafts through history – the most of any college in the nation.
Redshirt sophomore outfielder Nick McLain was the first to get called as the No. 78 overall pick in the third round to the Chicago White Sox. McLain capped a stellar two-year career with a .658 slugging percentage in his time in the Valley, the sixth-best mark in ASU school history (min. 250 at-bats).
All-American junior catcher Ryan Campos joined McLain shortly after as the No. 109 overall pick in the fourth round by the St. Louis Cardinals. Campos' .369 career average is good for the Top-20 in Sun Devil school history and was the highest among active catchers prior to his selection.
With their selections, ASU has had at least one player go in the first five rounds in eight of the last nine drafts and in 20 of the last 22.
ASU has had at least one Top-10 round pick in all but four drafts in history (2017, 2014, 2002, 1970).
ASU head coach Willie Bloomquist has produced six top-10 round selections in his first three seasons and 18 selections overall, including 2023 second-round selection of the Minnesota Twins, Luke Keaschall, who played in the MLB Futures Game last weekend as part of the All-Star Week Festivities in Arlington, Texas.
Right-handed pitcher Ryan Schiefer was drafted in 14th round (426th) by the Tampa Bay Rays and fellow right Hunter Omlid was the final selection at No. 588 in the 20th round by the Colorado Rockies.
Senior infielder Steven Ondina was also signed as an undrafted free agent by the Baltimore Orioles.
Additionally, two members of ASU's 2023-24 signing class also heard their names called, including fifth-round selection Nick Montgomery who went 161st overall and marked the third consecutive season head coach Willie Bloomquist has had a signee go in the first five rounds. Local product Ky McGary was selected in the 20th round by the Astros. SUN DEVIL BASEBALL IN MLB DRAFT
Nick McLain - Outfielder
White Sox – 3rd Round – 78th Overall
Cardinals – 4th Round – 109th Overall
Rays – 14th Round – 426th Overall
Rockies – 20th Round – 588th Overall
The four selections brought ASU's all-time MLB Draft picks to 477, including secondary phase and January drafts through history – the most of any college in the nation.
Redshirt sophomore outfielder Nick McLain was the first to get called as the No. 78 overall pick in the third round to the Chicago White Sox. McLain capped a stellar two-year career with a .658 slugging percentage in his time in the Valley, the sixth-best mark in ASU school history (min. 250 at-bats).
All-American junior catcher Ryan Campos joined McLain shortly after as the No. 109 overall pick in the fourth round by the St. Louis Cardinals. Campos' .369 career average is good for the Top-20 in Sun Devil school history and was the highest among active catchers prior to his selection.
With their selections, ASU has had at least one player go in the first five rounds in eight of the last nine drafts and in 20 of the last 22.
ASU has had at least one Top-10 round pick in all but four drafts in history (2017, 2014, 2002, 1970).
ASU head coach Willie Bloomquist has produced six top-10 round selections in his first three seasons and 18 selections overall, including 2023 second-round selection of the Minnesota Twins, Luke Keaschall, who played in the MLB Futures Game last weekend as part of the All-Star Week Festivities in Arlington, Texas.
Right-handed pitcher Ryan Schiefer was drafted in 14th round (426th) by the Tampa Bay Rays and fellow right Hunter Omlid was the final selection at No. 588 in the 20th round by the Colorado Rockies.
Senior infielder Steven Ondina was also signed as an undrafted free agent by the Baltimore Orioles.
Additionally, two members of ASU's 2023-24 signing class also heard their names called, including fifth-round selection Nick Montgomery who went 161st overall and marked the third consecutive season head coach Willie Bloomquist has had a signee go in the first five rounds. Local product Ky McGary was selected in the 20th round by the Astros. SUN DEVIL BASEBALL IN MLB DRAFT
- ASU's four selections brought the program's all-time MLB Draft tally to 477, including secondary phase and January drafts through history – the most of any college in the nation.
- It was the second-consecutive season ASU has had two players go in the Top Five rounds and the fourth time in the last five years.
- ASU has had at least one player go in the first five rounds in eight of the last nine drafts and in 20 of the last 22.
- ASU has had at least one Top-10 round pick in all but four drafts in history (2017, 2014, 2002, 1970).
- 967 players have donned the Maroon and Gold in the MLB Draft era and 477 of those have been drafted (49.3 percent). 117 Sun Devils have gone on to play in the MLB – over 12 percent of the team's all-time roster.
- Since the MLB consolidated the draft from multiple ones to a single draft in 1987, the Sun Devils have had 288 players drafted. Of those 265 (9206 percent) have seen their draft status improve while at ASU. 51 of the 288 prior to this year's draft have gone on to play in the big leagues (17.7 percent).
Nick McLain - Outfielder
White Sox – 3rd Round – 78th Overall
- Nick McLain finished his two years at ASU with a .327 average (92-of-281), with a .658 slugging percentage - a tally good for sixth in ASU school history (min. 250 at-bats). He logged 20 homers and 23 doubles in his career, in addition to five triples with over half his career hits going for extra bases
- McLain missed the start of the 2024 campaign for the second-straight season due to having his other hamate bone removed, but was very productive during his return, responsible for the go-ahead RBI or run in a team-best seven ASU games this season
- McLain led the Pac-12 in league-only games with 38 RBIs this season out of his 54 total - which was two off the team lead. The 38 RBIs were three more than any other Pac-12 player in league games. His .692 slugging percentage in Pac-12 games was fourth in the league and his 22 extra-base hits in Pac-12 games were second. He has homered in seven of the last 12 games.
- McLain finished the season on an active 20-game hit streak - the longest by a Sun Devil since his brother, Sean, had a 23-game streak in 2021. He reached base in the final 22 games of the season.
- He was second on team with 16 multi-RBI games and recorded one of those in 10 of his last 16 games
- McLain drew 33 walks this year and was hit eight times, a large part of his .457 OBP over his .342 average on the year. His 14.3 walk percentage this season was 10th in the Pac-12 and is 0.82 strikeout-to-walk ratio is fifth in the league.
- He brought the runner home from third with less than two outs 14 times this season - leading the team despite missing eight games.
- McLain's 18 doubles this season were sixth in the league despite his games missed and his 12 homers were 13th. His 1.100 OPS was third in the conference and his .342 average was eighth.
- Defensively, he had no errors on 93 chances this season with a team-leading five outfield assists. He was one of just 13 eligible players in the Pac-12 to not record an error this season and his 93 errorless chances were fourth among those.
- McLain was the back-to-back Pac-12 Player of the Week the last two weekends of ASU's Pac-12 season, earning the second after a Stanford series and Arizona midweek where he finished the four games batting .611 on 11-of-18 hitting, with three homers and two doubles to post a 1.222 slugging percentage while reaching at a .667 clip with three walks and striking out just once. He had a team-best eight RBIs and six runs scored.
- Prior to that, he homered in five straight games against UC San Diego and Washington to cap off a gaudy week at the plate that included his first career five-hit game. In ASU's five games that week, McLain bat .591 (13-of-22) with 13 RBIs and scored 14 runs. He hit a walk-off grand slam in extra innings (10) to defeat Washington in the Friday game. He slugged 1.364 on the week with five homers and two doubles, striking out just once and reaching base at a .654 clip for a gaudy 2.018 OPS. His efforts were rewarded as the unanimous National and Conference Player of the Week by all major outlets, including NCBWA, NCAA Baseball, D1Baseball and the Pac-12 Conference.
Cardinals – 4th Round – 109th Overall
- Ryan Campos earned his first All-America Honor from the ABCA/Rawlings and was an ABCA/Rawlings All-West Region First Team Catcher, a Dick Howser Trophy Finalist and Buster Posey Award Semifinalist. He was twice named the Pac-12 Player of the Week.
- His .369 career average is among the Top-20 in ASU school history. He added 110 career RBIs with 40 doubles and 21 homers while reaching base at a .464 career clip. He walked 94 times compared to just 66 strikeouts
- Prior to being drafted, Campos had the 22nd-best active career batting average (.369) - tops among the nation's catchers and fourth among players with at least 500 career at-bats (567).
- Campos reached base in a ridiculous 137-of-147 (93.2%) career games with the Sun Devils overall. He had a 40-game reached base streak dating back to 2023 snapped at Oregon State earlier this year but, regardless, reached base in 57 of 58 games for ASU this season.
- Campos paced the Pac-12 with 25 doubles this season – three more than any other player in the league and a tally good for seventh in the country. His 11 homers were 16th in the league as well.
- Campos became the fourth player under Willie Bloomquist to have at least 20 doubles and 10 homers in a single season, joining Joe Lampe/Nate Baez (2022) and Luke Keaschall (2023). That tally is notable as ASU had just five players total accomplish the feat between 1998-2021.
- His 55 RBIs this season were just two shy of the team lead and eighth in the Pac-12. His 21 two-out RBI were the third-most on the squad.
- After an uncharacteristically low Sub-.300 average for the majority of the season, Campos rode a hot April where he bat .409 over 17 games and carried that through early May to bring his season total to .364 - good for third in the Pac-12. Campos bat .375 in Pac-12 games, a tally that is good for fifth in the league.
- His 26 multi-hit games were five more than any Sun Devil this year.
- Campos' .461 OBP was second on the roster and fifth in the Pac-12 while his .610 slugging percentage was eighth in the league. He slugged .633 in Pac-12-only games, the fifth-best tally in the conference.
- The junior solidified his spot as a leadoff batter in the second half of the season and posted a gaudy .573 on-base percentage when leading off an inning this season, reaching on 47-of-82 chances.
- Campos had 40 walks on the season, good for fifth in the league.
- In fact, despite having more strikeouts than he did all last season (25), Campos still had more walks and his 0.62 strikeout-to-walk ratio was second in the Pac-12. He struck out just 10 times in the last 39 games after having 15 in the first 19.
- He easily led the team in productive outs, advancing runners with an out 35 times - 17 more than any of his teammates.
- His 73 runs scored also paced the team and were good for second in the Pac-12 and 24th in the country.
- His 19 runners caught stealing were second in the Pac-12 and his 42 defensive assists this season were for second among Pac-12 catchers. In Pac-12 games, however, his 15 runners caught stealing were three more than any other catcher and his 30 defensive assists were six more than any other backstop.
- In the final regular season weekend of the season, Campos bat an absurd .857 (12-of-14) with nine runs scored and slugged 1.357 with three doubles and a homer
- The junior had his first multi-homer game against Santa Clara in the finale, also posting a career-best five RBIs. He added another multi-homer game against Oregon.
- Campos entered the season as D1Baseball's 10th-ranked catcher in the country and No. 95 collegiate prospect for the 2024 MLB Draft. He was named to the Preseason All-Pac-12 team, as voted on by the league's coaches.
Rays – 14th Round – 426th Overall
- Ryan Schiefer was ASU's go-to arm out of the bullpen this season and led the team with his 3.83 ERA
- Schiefer appeared in 23 games and 42.1 innings, striking out 47 and allowing just a measly .208 batting average against - a tally that would have ranked second in the Pac-12 had he met the innings-pitched minimum
- He inherited a team-high 30 batters on the year and stranded 22 of those (73.3 percent)
- The junior college transfer led the team with three saves and gave up just seven extra-base hits all year
Rockies – 20th Round – 588th Overall
- Hunter Omlid was tasked with doing a little of everything this season, appearing in 20 games as a starter, middle reliever and closer at different points in the year
- The flamethrowing veteran out of Montana flashed mid-to-high 90s on the radar gun down the stretch and struck out 54 batters over just 37.2 innings of work
- His 11 total strikeouts against Utah Valley in 51 innings of relief were his most at the Division I level, trailing only a 12-strikeout game while at Central Arizona in 2021. It was the most strikeouts for an ASU relief pitcher since Tyler Thornton struck out 11 in 7.0 innings against Rhode Island on April 30, 2021. Omlid's 5.1 innings of relief were also the longest for a Sun Devil in relief since that Thornton game
- He would strike out eight in four innings in a start against UCLA later in the year and struck out seven in 3.2 innings in his final appearance of the year against Texas Tech