Kansas State baseball had its first-ever positional player selected in the first round with Kaelen Culpepper taken by the Minnesota Twins with the 21st overall pick.
However, Kansas State wasn't done yet as they had four more players taken later in the draft. Star reliever Tyson Neighbors was taken in the fourth round by the San Diego Padres in the fourth round, Jackson Wentworth by the Toronto Blue Jays in the fifth round, Brady Day by the Philadelphia Phillies in the tenth round, and Brendan Jones by the New York Yankees in the twelfth round.
CONGRATS to these leaders, friends & forever@KStateBSB LEGENDS! @thechosen1kc @tyson_neighbors @jacksonwentwor3 @BradyDay007 @BrendanTJones😈 #unfillableshoes pic.twitter.com/ZTz6Jpvbwb
— Micah Dean (@IAmMicahDean) July 16, 2024
With Culpepper, Neighbors, and Wentworth in the first, fourth, and fifth rounds, it marks the first time in K-State baseball history the program had three players selected in the first three rounds.
Head coach Pete Hughes has now had 88 players taken in the draft during his 27-year coaching career. He has had eight players selected in the first round in all and has had 142 players that he recruited to make their way to the Big Leagues.
Culpepper and Neighbors were the only two Wildcats selected for preseason honors before the 2024 season so it only made sense that they were the first two Wildcats selected in the draft this year. Neighbors made 22 relief appearances for Kansas State this season and led the bullpen with nine saves.
Wentworth is just a sophomore and was taken in the tenth round with the 213th overall pick. Another pitcher for the Wildcats who struck out 115 hitters which is the second most in program history and fourth in the Big 12 this season. Wentworth had a 6-10 record this season with a 5.45 ERA, and 142 strikeouts.
Day was actually selected in last year's draft in the twelfth round but chose to return to the Wildcats for another season and improved his draft position this season. He finished the season with a .318 batting average, a .513 slugging percentage, a .426 on-base percentage, 75 hits, 56 RBIs, 44 walks, and 121 total bases.
Jones is hoping to go from the Little Apple to the Big Apple to make it to the Big League with the Yankees. Jones had a solid junior season with a great stat line of .303/.442/.500.