8 college baseball teams with most active MLB players since 2010 ft. Louisville Cardinals
Having a player on a Major League Baseball roster is an enormous achievement for a college baseball program. It means that they were able to produce one of the best players in the world.
Since 2010, eight college programs have had the most active alumni in the league:
8 college baseball teams with most active MLB players since 2010
1. Louisville Cardinals - 9 players
Louisville tops the list with nine players in the 2024 MLB roster, including Los Angeles Dodgers teammates: catcher Will Smith and pitcher Bobby Miller.
Other Cardinals in the MLB are: Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder and catcher Henry Davis, Los Angeles Angels pitcher Reid Detmers, Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Chad Green, San Francisco Giants shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald, Atlanta Braves outfielder Adam Duvall, Miami Marlins pitcher Bryan Hoeing and New York Yankees pitcher Nick Burdi.
The nine-time NCAA regional champions have appeared in five College World Series stints, with the last time being in 2019.
2. Arizona State Sun Devils - 8 players
Former Arizona State stars in the MLB are Alika Williams, Merrill Kelly, Alec Marsh, Brian Serven, Spencer Torkelson, Seth Martinez, Austin Barnes and Trevor Williams.
Williams plays shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Kelly pitches for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Marsh is a starting pitcher for the Kansas City Royals while Martinez pitches in relief for the Houston Astros.
Serven catches for the Toronto Blue Jays while Torkelson is a first baseman for the Detroit Tigers. Barnes is a catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers while Trevor Williams is a starting pitcher for the Washington Nationals.
It would be worth mentioning that Torkelson was picked No. 1 overall by the Tigers in the 2020 MLB Draft. Unfortunately for the young player, he was reassigned to Triple A Toledo last June to improve his batting.
3. Vanderbilt Commodores - 8 players
Vanderbilt has eight of its players on the MLB roster. Tony Kemp plays for the Baltimore Orioles while Collin Snider pitches for the Seattle Mariners. Tyler Beede is a pitcher for the Cleveland Guardians while teammates Bryan Reynolds and Jason Delay play outfielder and catcher, respectively for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Mike Yastrzemski is an outfielder for the San Francisco Giants, Dansby Swanson is a shortstop for the Chicago Cubs and JJ Bleday plays outfielder for the Oakland Athletics.
Bleday, who was part of the 2019 national championship-winning team, was picked fourth overall by the Miami Marlins. This squad had 13 players picked in that year. This was tied for the most number of draft picks in the SEC.
Swanson, Beede, Delay and Reynolds were part of the 2014 natty-winning squad that defeated Virginia, 2-1, in the best-of-three CWS final.
4. Florida Gators - 8 players
Florida has eight of its alumni playing in various MLB rosters this season. They are Wyatt Langford, Harrison Bader, Alex Faedo, Brady Singer, Dane Dunning, Pete Alonso, AJ Puk and Jonathan India.
Langford and Dunning are teammates for the Texas Rangers while Bader and Alonso play for the New York Mets. Faedo is a pitcher for the Detroit Tigers while Singer pitches for the Kansas City Royals. Puk is a reliever for the Miami Marlins while India is an infielder for the Cincinnati Reds.
Faedo, India and Singer were part of the 2017 national title-winning team. Alonso won MLB Rookie of the Year in 2019 after hitting a league-leading 53 home runs that season. The 'Polar Bear' has slugged a total of 220 home runs in 771 MLB games for the Mets.
5. Arkansas Razorbacks - 7 players
Arkansas features four pitchers and three position players in the current MLB roster. Andrew Benintendi and Dominic Fletcher are outfield teammates for the Chicago White Sox while James McCann plays catcher for the New York Mets.
Jalen Beeks is a pitcher for the Colorado Rockies while Drew Smyly pitches for the Chicago Cubs. Isaiah Campbell plies his stuff with the Boston Red Sox while Ryne Stanek pitches for the Seattle Mariners.
The Razorbacks had 11 College World Series stints, including four in the last nine seasons. They were two-time CWS runners-up with the last being in 2018. Fletcher and Campbell were the only active MLB players who were part of the 2018 Arkansas team.
6. Mississippi State Bulldogs - 7 players
Mississippi State has seven players in the major league rosters this season. They are Hunter Renfroe, Dakota Hudson, Chris Stratton, JP France, Adam Frazier, Jordan Westburg and Brent Rooker.
Renfroe plays outfielder for the Kansas City Royals and he's teammates with Stratton and Frazier. On the other hand, Dakota Hudson pitches for the Colorado Rockies while France is a starter for the Houston Astros.
Westburg is a second baseman for the Baltimore Orioles while Rooker is a designated hitter for the Oakland Athletics.
The Bulldogs have won their only national title in 2021 and nobody from this roster of current MLB players has been part of the championship-winning squad.
7. Texas A&M Aggies - 7 players
Seven Texas A&M alumni are on the rosters of MLB teams this season. Six of them are pitchers — Ross Stripling (Oakland Athletics), Stephen Kolek (San Diego Padres), Bryce Miller (Seattle Mariners), Michael Wacha (Kansas City Royals), Brooks Raley (New York Mets) and AJ Minter (Atlanta Braves).
Braden Shewmake is the only Aggie in the 2024 MLB roster who isn't a pitcher as he plays shortstop for the Chicago White Sox.
Texas A&M is fresh from finishing runners-up in the 2024 College World Series and has been into eight CWS stints since 1951.
8. Virginia Cavaliers - 7 players
The Virginia Cavaliers have seven of its alumni on the active roster of various MLB teams. They are Andrew Abbott, Ernie Clement, Jake McCarthy, Matt Thaiss, Chris Taylor, Zack Gelof and Josh Sborz.
Abbott plays in the Cincinnati Reds while Clement plays utility for the Toronto Blue Jays. McCarthy plies his stuff at Arizona while Thaiss is a catcher for the Los Angeles Angels.
Taylor is a utility for the Los Angeles Dodgers while Gelof and Sborz play for the Oakland Athletics and Texas Rangers, respectively.
Sborz, Taylor and Thaiss were part of the 2015 championship-winning squad who defeated Vanderbilt in three games in the CWS final. The Atlantic Coast Conference member has been to seven CWS, with three happening in the last four seasons.