Here are the DII baseball players that went in the 2024 MLB Draft

The future of Major League Baseball was selected over the All-Star break from July 14-16 in Fort Worth, Texas. When the three days of the 2024 MLB draft settled, 13 players from 2024 DII rosters were selected. 

The San Diego Padres were very active on the DII ranks, drafting three of the 13 DII alum that went. The Atlanta Braves, who have long been on the DII trail, selected two former DII players in the first 10 rounds as well. The bulk of the players drafted were pitchers, as 10 former DII arms are heading to the next level. 

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There were quite a few players who spent the bulk of the career in DII before transferring for their final season last year. However, this article focuses solely on those DII alum that played for a DII baseball program in the 2024 season. That said, there are two DII alum that went relatively early of note. Former Wingate Bulldog Seaver King, who finished his career at Wake Forest, went 10th overall to the Washington Nationals. Jakob Christian, who had an absurd 2023 as PacWest player of the year with Point Loma, went in the fifth round to the San Francisco Giants. 

Now, let’s take a look at 13 DII players hopeful of one day making The Show. 

2024 DII players selected in the MLB draft

The first DII player off the board was former West Florida Argonaut Darrien McDowell. He was the highest Argo to ever be selected when the San Diego Padres made him the 180th overall pick in the sixth round. He essentially is the West Florida record book, leaving the program as the all-time leader in home runs (41), batting average (.400) and OPS (1.286).

“Darrien has power to all fields and has very quick hands that allow him to see the ball deeper for better strike recognition which will translate well at the pro level,” Argos’ head coach Mike Jeffcoat told me. “It would not surprise me to see him make it to the major leagues.”

Ethan Sloan was one of two former DII players selected in the eighth round. The Regis product went to the Detroit Tigers. Sloan anchored the Rangers’ bullpen, recording nine saves and striking out 58 batters in 36.1 innings pitched.

“We are really excited for Ethan,” Regis head coach Pat Jolley told me. “He is a tremendous worker that’ll go out there and compete with the best of them. Ethan has just continued to get better and better each year, first with the velocity and the last couple of years the command. He has a really good [fastball/slider] combination that induced a lot of swing and miss.

“What makes him different than others is how much he throws across his body with a lower, 3/4-arm angle. His ability to get his fastball to both sides of the plate this year really opened up the slider — which is plus — to get a lot of bad swings.”

Joining Sloan in the eighth round is former Montevallo Falcon Logan Samuels. Selected 251st overall by the Atlanta Braves, Samuels is the highest Falcon ever selected. Samuels is a big righty, listed at 6-foot-4 and creates a lot of swing-and-miss, striking out 69 in 59.2 innings.

“Logan’s work ethic and character are exceptional,” Montevallo head coach Chandler Rose told me via email. “He’s made significant jumps in the past four years in development but what excites me most is how much growth is still ahead of him. He’s athletic, long and just scratching the surface of what he will become. He was up to 96 a bunch this year and with added development, he has a chance to be a power arm.”

Lenoir-Rhyne’s Zach Evans was the last DII player selected before round 10. He is the first Bear drafted since 2018, when Justin Dean went to the Braves and Landon Whitson went to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Padres made him the 270th overall pick in the ninth round, giving the Padres two former DII baseball players in the first nine rounds. Listed at 6-foot-4, Evans has the athleticism and arm to stay on the left side of the infield (where he played shortstop for the Bears) and we will soon see how his bat translates at the next level. Last year, he hit .321 with 11 home runs, 54 runs scored and 44 RBI, striking out a mere 20 times in 193 at bats. 

“Zach is first class on and off the field,” said former Lenoir-Rhyne head coach Chris Ramirez, now at Southern Indiana for the 2025 season. “[He’s a] hard-nosed, blue collar person that has put in the work and transformed himself into a pro.

“Zach does a few things that most players can’t do. His ball carries unlike any infielder I have ever coached, which will allow him to stay on the left side of the infield at the highest level. His bread-and-butter swing is through the right center gap with some pop. He has the frame to keep adding strength and power which should continue to play up at the next level.”

Here’s the complete list of DII baseball players from 2024 rosters selected over the weekend.