MLB Draft 2024: Which college baseball team had the most draft picks on Day 1?
National champions Tennessee Volunteers had the most draft picks on Day 1 of the 2024 MLB draft on Sunday at the Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas. Tennessee, who won their first national title by beating Texas A&M in three games in the 2024 College World Series finals, had four of its core players selected in the first two rounds of the annual event.
Second baseman Christian Moore was picked No. 8 by the Los Angeles Angels, while first baseman Blake Burke was selected No. 34 overall by the Milwaukee Brewers as a Competitive Balance Round A draftee.
The Minnesota Twins named third baseman Billy Amick as their second-round pick and 60th overall, while the Texas Rangers selected Dylan Dreiling as their second-round choice and No. 65 overall.
Moore, who slugged 34 home runs and 74 RBIs this past season, to go along with a .375/.451/.797 batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage slash line, became the highest drafted Volunteer since 2016 and the highest pick of the Tony Vitello era.
The infielder, who witnessed the event live, gave a shoutout to his teammates and Vitello as he thanked them for helping him grow as a baseball player in college.
“Wow. You dream about this as a kid, growing up and watching this even every year. It’s a beautiful thing. I just want to shoutout to my family. They are over there – down there – coming all the way from New York," Moore said in an interview with the MLB Network.
"A shoutout to my teammates and of course the GOAT (greatest of all-time) sitting over there Tony Vitello. Much love to you and thank you for everything," the second baseman added.
Burke had his name called 26 picks later by the Brewers as a competitive balance pick to become the sixth MLB first-round pick under the Vitello era.
The six-foot-three, 236-pound, first baseman earned the SEC All-Defensive team honors as a junior and a second-team All-SEC selection after posting a .989 fielding percentage on 497 putouts and 48 assists. He was one of five Tennessee players who smacked at least 20 home runs in a season.
Amick and Dreiling were known power hitters during their time with the Volunteers, with both slugging 23 homers each this past season. They are expected to compete for a position spot on the teams who picked them as early as next year.
Tennessee coach Tony Vitello speaks about MLB Day 1 draft picks Moore, Burke, Amick and Dreiling
Tennessee coach Tony Vitello spoke about his four players who were selected on Day 1 of the MLB draft. He called Christian Moore's progress through the years off the charts and compared his cognitive skills with MLB veterans Ian Kinsler and Max Scherzer.
The championship-winning mentor described the Brewers' selection of Blake Burke as a home run due to the infielder's all-around capabilities. He hailed Burke's willingness to work the extra mile to improve on his first-base fieling skills.
"He got a lot better defensively at first base through a lot of hard work and I’ll tell you what, he plays like a little leaguer. He loves to play the game which is required at the big league level with how many repetitions are involved,” Vitello said of Burke.
Meanwhile, he branded Billy Amick's team to the 60th pick as a steal because he hasn't fully adapted to his role as a third baseman. He believes that Amick can hit and thinks the Clemson transfer would improve with time.
Vitello hopes Dylan Dreiling will further develop his maturity with the Rangers. He remembers how Dreiling led Tennessee in the biggest moments of the past season, describing the outfielder as super competitive and confident.