Three more players with Mississippi ties selected in MLB draft

PINE BELT, Miss. (WDAM) _ University of Southern Mississippi outfielder Reed Trimble said he hadn’t gotten much sleep over the four or five days leading up to Monday’s 2021 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.

But Trimble said he was wide awake and all ears when the call came early Monday afternoon, informing him that he now had a million-dollar opportunity to become a professional baseball player.

“I’m just excited, really excited, just a little bit,” said Trimble, whose words sounded like they still were pacing a room even some six hours after being selected as a “competitive balance” pick between the second and third rounds.

Trimble was taken by the Baltimore Orioles early Monday afternoon as he joined former outfielder Matt Wallner (first round, 2019) and former pitcher Nick Sandlin (second round, 2018) as the third Golden Eagle in the past four seasons to be drafted before the start of the third round.

It’s likely a life-changing call for a young man who turned 21 years old the day USM stayed alive at the Oxford Regional with wins over Florida State University and the University of Mississippi.

A 6-foot, 180-pound switch-hitter, Trimble hit .345 with 17 home runs and tied for the national lead with 72 RBIs.

Trimble also had pizzaz to go with his pop, stealing 12 bases in 14 attempts and making a batbag full of highlight-reel defensive plays in center field.

Trimble said a late-season surge at the plate certainly didn’t hurt his profile, but likely just added a final few lines to a resume that already had him among the top 150 prospects in the draft.

Trimbkle said he wasn’t surprised when he was selected, “but I was surprised from a team standpoint,” Trimble said. “They were not one of the teams I had heard from a lot.

“But I’m just really excited about the whole deal. “I’m just glad it’s over. Finally.”

Well, the selection process is over.

But Trimble and his family still have a decision to make: whether to continue his playing career in Hattiesburg or sign a lucrative first contract to begin a professional career.

As the 65th overall pick in the draft , Trimble’s slot had an estimated value of $1.03 million, according to MLB.com.

Trimble said Monday night that no decision had been made, and that his family would be involved in the process that likely is begin in earnest this weekend when the Orioles are expected to visit.

“I appreciate everything, appreciate my teammates and coaches, everything,” Trimble said. “We’ll see, but I’m excited about it.”

Three baseball players with Mississippi ties were among the first 23 names called when the second day of the 2021 Major Leagues Baseball Amateur Draft opened Tuesday morning.

Brennon McNair, the top-ranked high school shortstop prospect in Mississippi, was taken by the Kansas City Royals in the 11th round Tuesday with the 319th overall selection of the draft.

McNair, a two-sport standout at Magee High School, had signed to play college ball at the University of South Alabama.

Three selections later, Mississippi State University outfielder Rowdey Jordan was taken by the New York Mets.

Jordan, a fourth-year senior, became the fifth Bulldog from the 2021 College World Series championship team to be selected in the first 11 rounds of the draft.

USM right-hander Hunter Stanley rounded out Tuesday’s early trio when the Cleveland Indians tapped the senior closer-turned-starter with the draft’s 336th overall pick.

Hunter became the third Golden Eagles’ third pitching standout nabbed by the Indians in the past five years, joining Kirk McCarty (2017, seventh round) and Nick Sandlin (2018, second round).

Stanley was the third Golden Eagle selected over the past two days, with Trimble and sophomore left-handed reliever Ryan Och going within Monday’s first seven rounds.

Nine collegians with Mississippi credentials were selected in Monday’s first 10 rounds, including first-round selections pitcher Will Bednar of MSU (San Francisco) and pitcher Gunnar Hoglund of the University of Mississippi (Toronto).

Also selected on the first day were Ole Miss pitchers Doug Nikhazy (Cleveland) and Taylor Broadway (Chicago White Sox) and a trio of Bulldogs, outfielder Tanner Allen and pitchers Eric Cerantola and Christian MacLeod.

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