Dakota Hudson Taken In First Round By St. Louis In 2016 MLB Draft
June 09, 2016 | Baseball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – From All-SEC to All-American to Major League Baseball.
Dakota Hudson became the 13th Diamond Dawg to be selected in the first round of the MLB Draft, as the St. Louis Cardinals selected the right hander with the 34th pick on Thursday.
The 2016 First Team All-SEC selection is the highest Bulldog drafted since Hunter Renfroe was selected with the 13th pick in the 2013 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres.
"I'm a pretty big Cardinals fan so I was super excited and it's a big deal to have this opportunity," Hudson said.
Hudson is the first Bulldog in program history to be drafted in the first round by the Cardinals and the first overall since Brad Freeman (7th round, 1998) to be taken by St. Louis.
Hudson, a Louisville Slugger and Baseball America Second Team All-America selection, leads the Mississippi State pitching staff with a 9-4 record and a 2.62 ERA. He has tossed three complete games in 106.2 innings, allowing only 99 hits and 34 walks. The junior has 109 strikeouts on the year, which puts him tied for ninth with former Diamond Dawg All-American Eric DuBose, who struck out 109 in 1995.
The Dunlap, Tenn., native's nine wins this season are the most by a Bulldog pitcher since Ross Mitchell had 13 during the 2013 campaign.
The MLB Draft continues Friday and Saturday, starting at noon CT on Friday and 11 a.m. CT on Saturday, both streaming live on MLB.com.
