Top 5 college baseball teams with most first-round MLB draft picks ft. Stanford
The 2024 MLB Draft is almost here. Opening on Sunday, June 14th, the three-day draft will add a new slate of amateur players to the professional ranks. But what schools are best at putting players atop the Draft? Since the MLB Draft was first instituted in 1965, here's the teams that have produced the most first-round MLB picks.
Top 5 college baseball teams with the most first-round MLB Draft picks
#5. North Carolina (16 first round picks)
The Tar Heels have produced a bevy of top talent. They've had the top pick only once, which was catcher B.J. Surhoff, a solid regular for many seasons. In all, UNC has produced seven top 10 picks. Outfielder Vance Honeycutt seems likely to add to UNC's total in this draft.
Speaking of totals, UNC is actually tied for fifth place with Florida State. But the Seminoles have had fewer top 10 picks in total (six) and their only No. 1 pick, pitcher Paul Wilson, had a worse career than Surhoff. That said, Buster Posey is a possible future Hall of Famer, but UNC got the higher overall quality edge.
#4. Texas Longhorns (17)
First things first. Texas has a claim to possibly the best player in this list, with former ace Roger Clemens. UT hasn't had a top pick, with their closest run coming in 1986, when lefty ace Greg Swindell went to the Cleveland Indians, where he had a solid career. The Horns can claim eight top 10 picks in total.
Texas seems unlikely to add to their first-round total this season, as first baseman Jared Thomas is probably their top prospect, and he's unlikely to reach the first round.
#3. Vanderbilt (21)
The Commodores have made major strides on this list in recent years and can claim a full dozen top 10 picks. Vandy also has had a pair of number one overall selections in pitcher David Price and shortstop Dansby Swanson. Vandy has produced a ton of quality pitching depth.
Vandy pitchers Bryce Cunningham and Carter Holton both seem unlikely to make any leaps into the first round in 2024.
#2. Arizona State (21)
The Sun Devils are veritable college baseball royalty and 14 top-10 picks confirms that status. The most famous and infamous has to be Barry Bonds, but ASU can also claim four top overall picks-- Rick Monday, Floyd Bannister, Bob Hormer and Spencer Torkelson.
ASU will almost certainly not improve on their first-round totals in 2024, but they're still one of college baseball's top draft pick producers.
#1.Stanford (23)
The Cardinal have produced almost two dozen first-round picks. Oddly, their only number one overall pick was pitcher Mark Appel, who nearly missed the big leagues altogether. Not so for ace Mike Mussina, who is now a Hall of Famer.
Catcher Malcolm Moore could give Stanford a real shot to increase their margin of MLB Draft first-round picks this season.
Which teams do you think of for producing top MLB Draft talent? Let us hear your opinions below in our comments section!