Ledbetter Taken On Day 1 of MLB Draft

STARKVILLE – Junior outfielder Colton Ledbetter heard his name called on the opening day of the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft, held on Sunday (July 9) in Seattle. This marks the fourth straight season that MSU had a student-athlete taken in the first two rounds.

Ledbetter was the No. 55 overall pick by the Tampa Bay Rays in the second round.

In the MLB Draft, Mississippi State has heard 187 student-athletes names called at the event for a total of 228 draft picks overall.

Under head coach Chris Lemonis, Mississippi State has seen 27 student-athletes drafted in the MLB Draft, including five going in the first round. Lemonis also has 12 draft picks in the first five rounds during his MSU tenure.

Ledbetter is the seventh Mississippi State player to be drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays and the first since third baseman Kamren James in 2022.

Colton Ledbetter | OF | Hoover, Ala.
Following the 2023 season, Ledbetter was named ABCA/Rawlings Second Team All-South Region.

He led the team at the plate in his lone season in the Maroon and White. The junior outfielder from Hoover, Ala., had a team-high .320 batting average. He finished the 2023 season with 47 walks, a team-high. He collected 63 hits, with 25 of those going for extra bases. He had 12 home runs, the second most on the Diamond Dawgs. His 52 RBIs were also the second most on the team.

Ledbetter led the team with 17 multi-hit games, including 13 two-hit games. Besides having multi-hit games, he had 14 multi-RBI games, the second most on the team. On Feb. 18 against VMI, Ledbetter drove in a season-high six runs, a team-high during the 2023 season.

Before joining the Diamond Dawgs, Ledbetter spent two years at Samford. During his sophomore season, the coaches named him Second Team All-SoCon. He had two games during the 2022 season that saw him record nine RBIs in a single game. He set the SoCon Tournament RBI record when he went 5-for-5 against Western Carolina and drove in nine runs.

The 2023 MLB Draft continues Monday (July 10) with rounds 3-10 starting at 1 p.m. CT on MLB.com.

Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on the baseball program. Fans can also follow the program on social media by searching 'HailStateBB' on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Mississippi State University Athletics

Ledbetter Taken On Day 1 of MLB Draft

Players Mentioned

Kamren James

Colton Ledbetter

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