SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – A total of 10 student-athletes who competed in the West Coast Conference this past season were selected during the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft, including five in the first eight rounds.
Highlighting the WCC in the draft was Santa Clara's Skylar Hales going seventh in the fourth round by Texas. Hales became the highest drafted player in program history since 2016.
San Diego’s Kevin Sim heard his name called in the fifth round by Arizona with the 148th overall pick.
Following Sims, Pepperdine and Gonzaga had representation in the seventh round when John Peck and Owen Wild were selected by the Detroit Tigers (200th) and the Tampa Bay Rays (213th), respectively.
Of the 10 WCC student-athletes chosen in the 2023 MLB Draft, six WCC programs in 2023 had at least one draft selection and three had at least two chosen. LMU led the way with three selections.
Draft Breakdown by School
LMU: 3
Pepperdine: 2
Gonzaga: 2
BYU: 1
Santa Clara: 1
San Diego: 1
| WCC IN 2023 MLB DRAFT – (Listed by draft order) |
| Name |
School |
Position |
Team |
Round/Pick |
| Skylar Hales |
Santa Clara |
RHP |
Rangers |
4/108 |
| Kevin Sim |
San Diego |
3B |
Dbacks |
5/148 |
| John Peck |
Pepperdine |
SS |
Tigers |
7/200 |
| Owen Wild |
Gonzaga |
RHP |
Rays |
7/213 |
| Ryan Johnson |
Pepperdine |
2B |
Astros |
8/254 |
| Austin Deming |
BYU |
3B |
Astros |
10/314 |
| Jared Thomas |
LMU |
C |
Phillies |
15/463 |
| Merrick Baldo |
LMU |
RHP |
Nationals |
17/495 |
| Brian Kalmer |
Gonzaga |
3B |
Cubs |
18/536 |
| Diego Berrera |
LMU |
LHP |
Athletics |
20/586 |