Charlie Condon and Parks Harber of the Georgia Bulldogs high-five after scoring a run against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Hawkins Field on April 1, 2023 in Nashville, Tenn. Condon could be the first overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. (Photo by Carly Mackler/Getty Images)
Five of the projected top 10 picks in the 2024 MLB draft will be playing in the NCAA Baseball Championship’s Super Regionals this weekend.
The Super Regionals are played in a best two-of-three format with the higher seeded team hosting, and the winner of each series advancing to Omaha, Neb. for the College World Series.
The biggest standouts are Georgia outfielder/third baseman Charlie Condon and Oregon State second baseman Travis Bazzana. Florida left-handed pitcher/first baseman Jac Caglianone isn’t far behind them. All four are ranked in the Top 10 of MLB Pipeline’s Top 200 Draft Rankings for the upcoming MLB Draft.
These three players are in the top three picks of most experts’ mock drafts. There is very heated debate as to whether Condon or Bazzana will go with the first overall pick to the Cleveland Guardians.
If Georgia and Oregon State win in their Super Regional matchups, Condon and Bazzana will face off in Omaha at the College World Series. If Florida wins, Caglianone would also be on their side of the bracket in Omaha.
Georgia 3B/OF Charlie Condon – Charlie Condon went from a walk-on to a superstar in less than two years. The Georgia third baseman walked on in 2022 and had to redshirt his freshman year. Condon played in the Northwoods League in 2022, which is a wooden bat summer league.
He showed enough to make Georgia’s roster for the 2023 season, and Condon had a historic freshman season for the Bulldogs, going on to be named National Freshman of the Year. He hit 25 home runs with an OPS of 1.284.
This season, Condon took an even greater leap, hitting 36 home runs and an OPS of 1.602 in 220 at-bats.
Condon is a versatile defender playing 30 games at third base, 24 in the outfield, and 10 at first base. He could profile as a corner outfielder in MLB, due to a lack of speed. His bat is now drawing comparisons to New York Yankees sluggers Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge per MLB Pipeline’s scouting report.
Condon will look to lead No. 7 Georgia past No. 10 N.C. State in the Super Regional at home in Athens. This is NC State’s sixth appearance in the Super Regionals and Georgia’s seventh appearance in school history. Game one starts on Saturday, June 8 at 12 noon EST on ESPNU/ESPN+.
Condon has been nominated for the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award, which goes to the best player in Division I Baseball. Arkansas left-handed pitcher Hagan Smith and Oregon State second baseman Travis Bazzana have also been nominated for the award.
Oregon 2B Travis Bazzana – Bazzana will become the first Australian-born player to be drafted in the first round of the MLB Draft in 2024.
ABazzana didn’t play baseball in the U.S. until after high school, when he moved out of Australia to attend Oregon State.
In a press conference on May 30 at Oregon State, Bazzana told to MLB.com’s Sonja Chen, “I want to make Australia a powerhouse in baseball. It’s not going to come from me but I want to start that trend.”
Australian Baseball took a big step forward in the 2023 WBC, going 3-1 in Pool B at the Tokyo Dome in Japan. They advanced to the quarterfinals and lost 4-3 to Cuba. Australia is currently ranked 11th in the WBSC rankings, and any future rise will likely involve Bazzana.
Bazzana is not only a trailblazer for Australian baseball, but he has also rewritten the record books at Oregon State. His 28 home runs, and 193 total bases this season are among single-season records he set. He also has the most home runs (45) hits (250) and total bases (459) in the program’s history. Another element of Bazzana’s game is his speed and he set a single-season record with 36 steals in 2023. He also stole the most bases in a game with five in 2023. He has 66 stolen bases in his three-year career at Oregon State.
His plate discipline and strikeout-to-walk ratio are also impressive at 34/74. He hit over .400 with a .416 average and an OPS of 1.512 in 207 at-bats. A slight concern with Bazzana is how his defense will translate at the MLB level, per MLB Pipeline’s scouting report.
Bazzana will look to keep his incredible season going and guide No. 15 Oregon State to an upset over No. 2 Kentucky in the Lexington Super Regional. This is Oregon State’s ninth appearance in the Super Regionals. Kentucky was also in the Super Regionals last year, and this is their third appearance.
They will play game one on Saturday, June 8 in Lexington, Ky. at 6 p.m. EST on ESPNU/ESPN+
Florida LHP/1B Jac Caglianone – Caglianone has been a two-way player for many years; he was the number one-ranked first baseman and fourth-ranked left-handed pitcher coming out of high school in 2021. In most years Caglianone could be the consensus number one pick, but he currently finds himself as the third-ranked Prospect on MLB pipeline’s Top 200 Draft Rankings.
Caglianone had huge expectations heaped upon him coming to Florida and has delivered every step of the way. While he didn’t pitch his freshman season for Florida, he started 28 games mainly as their designated hitter. Last season he broke Florida’s single season record with 33 home runs, 90 RBI, and 207 total bases.
This season, he followed up with 31 home runs, which included a stretch of nine straight games with a home run. This tied a Division I record and during this stretch, he launched the farthest home run in StatCasts’s history with a 516-foot bomb on April 16 against Jacksonville.
Caglianone will have a stronger future in the box and at first base, but some still view his pitching arm as a second round talent per MLB Pipeline.
His only drawback at the plate is that he is a free swinger, although he did increase his walks by 31 from last year to this year. He only struck out 23 times in 229 at-bats.
Caglianone’s Florida Gators were the third-seeded team in the Stillwater Regional and will look to upset No. 6 Clemson in the Clemson Super Regional. Florida made the Super Regionals last year and have made it 16 times in their history. Clemson has also made it 16 times and this is their first appearance since 2010.
They will play game one on Saturday, June 8 in Clemson at 2:00 p.m EST on ESPN/ESPN+
Texas A&M OF Braden Montgomery – Texas A&M OF Braden Montgomery was also a two-way player at Stanford last season before he transferred to College Station. Montgomery pitched two innings for Texas A&M this season, but at this point, the switch-hitter is fully focusing on hitting.
Montgomery has been the best hitter on the team, leading them with an OPS of 1.186 in 236 at-bats. He has helped Texas A&M earn the No.3 spot in Division I baseball. He took a huge leap this season, hitting 10 more home runs and driving in 24 more runs than he did last year and set career highs in home runs (28), RBI (85), and OPS (1.186) this season. Montgomery’s chase rate and whiff rate on fastballs in the strike zone are of concern at the next level. He struck out 59 times and walked 52 times in 236 at-bats this season.
He will most likely be the fourth player on this side of the NCAA Tournament to be selected within the top 10 players in the MLB Draft. Montgomery is currently ranked eighth in MLB Pipeline’s Top 200 Draft Rankings. If Texas A&M advances to Omaha, he could be in the semifinals with Condon, Bazzana, and Caglianone. The potential is there for four top 10 draft picks to be paired together and all match up in Omaha.
This is Texas A&M’s 11th appearance in the Super Regionals and Oregon’s 3rd, which includes a trip to the Super Regionals last season.
Texas A&M will host Oregon in the Bryan-College Station Super Regional. Game one will begin Saturday, June 8 at 2:00 p.m. EST on ESPN2/ESPN+.
West Virginia Shortstop J.J. Wetherholt – The left-handed West Virginia shortstop J.J. Wetherholt is the fifth player in the Super Regionals ranked in the top 10 of draft prospects.
Some scouts believe that Wetherholt could be the best pure hitter in this draft class, per MLB Pipeline’s scouting report. He is ranked seventh in MLB Pipeline’s Top 200 Draft Rankings. Wetherholt had to deal with a hamstring injury this season that caused him to miss over 20 games.
In 2022, Wetherholt had 22 multi-hit games and was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team. In 2023, he won the Big 12 Player of the Year and played for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team in the summer. Wetherholt stole 36 bases during the 2023 season for West Virginia.
He is a very well-rounded player, and his career numbers in three seasons at West Virginia include 29 home runs, 129 RBI, 56 stolen bases, and an OPS of 1.103 in 549 at-bats. There are some questions about his arm strength and whether he could a better fit as a second baseman in MLB.
Wetherhold will look to guide West Virginia to an upset against No.4 North Carolina in the Chapel Hill Super Regional. West Virginia has appeared in the Super Regionals 14 times and North Carolina has made 13 appearances. Game one will begin Friday, June 7 in Chapel Hill at 6:00 p.m. EST on ESPN2/ESPN+.
Super Regionals Notes & Schedule – No. 1 Tennessee has made the Super Regionals four straight years and seven times overall. They will host Evansville, the only four seed to win a Regional this year, in the Knoxville Super Regional.
Evansville will play in the Super Regionals for the first time on Friday, June 7 at 3:00 PM EST on ESPN2/ESPN+.
No. 8 Florida State will host unranked UConn in the Tallahassee Super Regional. Florida State has made 29 Super Regional appearances, which is the most of any of the 16 teams that made it this season. UConn appeared in the Super Regionals four times, most recently in 2022. Game one will begin on Friday, June 7 in Tallahassee at 12 noon EST on ESPN/ESPN+.
No. 12 Virginia will host unranked Kansas State in the Charlottesville Super Regional. Virginia also appeared in the Super Regionals last year and made it to the College World Series. Virginia has played in the Super Regionals nine times. This is Kansas State’s second appearance in the Super Regionals, and they have never made the College World Series. Game one will begin on Friday, June 7 in Charlottesville at 7:00 p.m EST on ESPNU/ESPN+.
The winners of the Super Regionals will advance to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. Games will begin on Friday, June 14 at Charles Schwab Field.
