ARLINGTON, Texas (theACC.com) – The Atlantic Coast Conference had 12 student-athletes, including seven first-round picks, hear their names called on Sunday evening as the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft opened in Arlington, Texas. The seven selections in the first round were the league’s highest total since 2020 and are tied for the second-most in ACC history. The seven first-round selections are tied for the most of any conference in the country.
This marks the 33rd consecutive year that at least one ACC player has been selected in the opening round of the MLB Draft and the ninth straight year that the ACC has placed at least one draftee among the top 15 picks.
Three Wake Forest Demon Deacons were selected in the top 10 of the 2024 MLB Draft, becoming just the second team ever to achieve the feat, joining the 2004 Rice Owls. The Demon Deacons saw Chase Burns, Nick Kurtz and Seaver King fly off of the board and begin their professional careers early in the evening.
Burns became the first ACC student-athlete taken in the draft, going second overall to the Cincinnati Reds. Burns became the highest draft pick in Wake Forest history and the second consecutive Demon Deacon to be selected by the Reds in the first round, joining Rhett Lowder in 2023. Burns becomes the fifth Demon Deacon pitcher to be picked in the first round since 2018, the most of any school in that span. The ACC Pitcher of the Year posted a 10-1 record and a 2.70 ERA on the mound while setting the Wake Forest single-season strikeout record with 191.
Just two picks later, Kurtz was selected fourth overall by the Oakland Athletics. Burns and Kurtz became the first teammates to be chosen with the first two ACC selections since 2014 when NC State’s Carlos Rodon and Trea Turner did so. The power-hitting first baseman hit .306 on the season with 22 home runs and 57 RBI. Kurtz is also Wake Forest’s single-season (78) and career (189) record holder in walks drawn.
King became the third Demon Deacon off the board at No. 10 overall to the Washington Nationals. In 60 games with Wake Forest, King launched a career-best 16 home runs and notched a team-leading 78 hits. With King’s selection, Wake Forest became the first ACC school with at least three first-round draft picks in the same draft since Louisville in 2016 (Corey Ray, Zach Burdi and Will Smith).
James Tibbs III, the 2024 ACC Player of the Year, was taken 13th overall by the San Francisco Giants, becoming the fourth ACC selection. Tibbs became the Seminoles’ highest draft pick since 2008 when the Giants selected Buster Posey at No. 8 overall. Tibbs started all 66 games for the Seminoles this season, hitting .387 with 91 hits, including 28 home runs, 18 doubles, 75 runs scored, and 95 runs batted in. Earlier this summer, Tibbs was also named the ACC Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Just one pick later, Tibbs’ Florida State teammate Cam Smith was selected No. 14 overall by the Chicago Cubs. Smith’s selection marked the first time since 1995 that Florida State had multiple players taken in the first round of the draft. It also marked the first time that two Florida State players were selected in the top 15 picks of the same draft in program history.
The infield prospect helped lead the Seminoles to the Men’s College World Series and a 49-win season. Last summer, Smith was named the Most Outstanding Pro Prospect in the Cape Cod League—the nation’s premier collegiate summer league.
North Carolina’s all-time home run leader, Vance Honeycutt, was selected at No. 22 by the Baltimore Orioles. The two-time ACC Defensive Player of the Year and ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner posted a mark of 16.9 defensive runs saved, which led all NCAA Division I outfielders. The outfielder became a household name throughout the NCAA Tournament with several clutch performances that helped lead the Tar Heels to the Men’s College World Series.
Malcolm Moore of ACC newcomer Stanford was selected at No. 30 overall by the Texas Rangers. Moore was the 2023 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and earned five separate Freshman All-America honors. Moore played for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team in the summer of 2023 before hitting .255 with 16 home runs, eight doubles, and 36 runs batted in for the Cardinal in 2024.
Virginia shortstop Griff O’Ferrall was selected in the Prospect Promotion Incentive (PPI) round of the draft, falling into the No. 32 overall slot. O’Ferrall and the Cavaliers made a trip to the Men’s College World Series. O’Ferrall finishes his time in Charlottesville with the most career hits (270) and runs scored (196) of any three-year player in Virginia history. O’Ferrall also won the Brooks Wallace Award in 2024, bestowed annually to the nation’s top shortstop. While picking up his second-straight First-Team All-ACC honor, the sure-handed infielder was also named an ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner.
Caleb Lomavita, a catcher from ACC newcomer California, heard his name called in the Competitive Balance round at No. 39 overall. The Ewa Beach, Hawai’i, native hit .322 for the Golden Bears in 2024, adding 15 home runs, 13 doubles, and 52 RBIs while posting a .989 fielding percentage behind the plate. Lomavita was a two-time All-Pac-12 First Team selection and also earned a Third-Team All-America nod from Perfect Game in 2024.
In the second round, three more ACC stars were drafted: Duke’s Jonathan Santucci went to the New York Mets at No. 46, NC State’s Jacob Cozart went to Cleveland at No. 48, and Virginia’s Ethan Anderson was picked by Baltimore at No. 61. Anderson became the third ACC student-athlete to be selected by Baltimore in the 2024 draft.
The 2024 MLB Draft continues Monday afternoon with rounds three through 10 and concludes Tuesday with rounds 11 through 20.
2024 MLB Draft Picks from the ACC
Round/Overall
1/2 – Chase Burns, RHP, Wake Forest, Cincinnati Reds
1/4 – Nick Kurtz, 1B, Wake Forest, Oakland Athletics
1/10 – Seaver King, SS, Wake Forest, Washington Nationals
1/13 – James Tibbs III, OF, Florida State, San Francisco Giants
1/14 – Cam Smith, 3B, Florida State, Chicago Cubs
1/22 – Vance Honeycutt, OF, North Carolina, Baltimore Orioles
1/30 – Malcolm Moore, C, Stanford*, Texas Rangers
PPI/32 – Griff O’Ferrall, SS, Virginia, Baltimore Orioles
CB-A/39 – Caleb Lomavita, C, California*, Washington Nationals
2/46 – Jonathan Santucci, LHP, Duke, New York Mets
2/48 – Jacob Cozart, C, NC State, Cleveland Guardians
2/61 – Ethan Anderson, C, Virginia, Baltimore Orioles
*- Played in the Pac-12 during the 2024 season