Seventy-four players heard their names called during Day 1 of the 2024 MLB Draft, and Yarmouth-Dennis had a pair of alums taken in the first two rounds.
Outfielder/right-handed pitcher Braden Montgomery (Texas A&M) entered Sunday’s proceedings ranked as the eighth-best prospect according to MLB.com and was taken 12th overall by the Boston Red Sox.
Montgomery began his collegiate career at Stanford before transferring to Texas A&M where he continued to elevate his draft profile as a prolific power hitter and a stellar defender. Montgomery was a Golden Spikes Award semifinalist this spring and was a 2024 Second Team All-American by both Baseball America and D1Baseball.com.
Before he bashed 27 home runs and led the SEC with 85 RBI during his lone year with the Aggies, Montgomery had two stints with Y-D in 2022 and 2023. Montgomery helped lead the Red Sox to an East Division title with a .340 batting average and a .900 OPS in 14 games last summer.
Montgomery had a .328/.457/.730 slash line with Texas A&M and is now the highest-selected position player in Aggies history. The switch-hitting outfielder had a 1.187 OPS this spring and joins former Y-D alums Connor Wong (2015) and Chase Meidroth (2022) in the Boston Red Sox organization.
The other Y-D product to be drafted Sunday night was right-hander Khal Stephen (Mississippi State). Stephen was taken 59th overall in the second round to the Toronto Blue Jays and had a dominant season with the Bulldogs after transferring from Purdue.
Stephen was named a 2024 D1Baseball.com Third Team All-American and posted an 8-3 record with a 3.28 ERA in 16 starts. The 6-foot-4 right-hander placed seventh in the SEC with 107 strikeouts and threw the third-most innings in the conference with 96.
Stephen was fourth in the SEC with a 1.01 WHIP and opponents tallied a .213 batting average against. The Danville, Illinois, product posted a strong 2023 campaign with Y-D and recorded a 2.73 ERA with 27 strikeouts across 26 ⅓ innings.
Stephen registered 10 or more strikeouts in three of his starts, highlighted by a pair of 11 punchout performances. He allowed three or fewer runs in 12 of his 16 starts and has elite command and control of his four-pitch mix.
Rounds 3-10 will take place Monday and many former Y-D standouts could hear their names called, including 2023 players Zander Darby (UC Santa Barbara), Casey Cook (North Carolina), Hunter Hines (Mississippi State), Ryan Stafford (Cal Poly) and 2024 infielder Cade McGee (Texas Tech).
Photo by Sophie Solarino
