Another college baseball season has passed and another draft class has been selected.

And like usual, a healthy crop of former Division II stars are ready to take on the professional game with full force.

Plenty of franchise-changing pieces have been found at the D-II level over the years, and for the 13 players from the ranks who had their names called at the recently completed 2024 MLB Draft this week, they now have the chance to be that franchise-changing piece themselves.

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There were some D-II studs that flew under the radar primarily because their exposure was limited compared to their D-I counterparts. But in the race to the major leagues, it doesn’t matter where you come from — it only matters if you can produce.

Here’s a look at all of the ex-Division II baseball standouts that were selected in the 2024 MLB Draft over the past few days:

Full List Of Division II Players Drafted Into The MLB In 2024

Darrien McDowell, OF, West Florida

• sixth round, 180th overall, San Diego Padres

D-II leader last season in home runs (27), total bases (194), and slugging percentage (.902); Gulf South Conference Player of the Year.

Ethan Sloan, LHP, Regis

• eighth round, 236th overall, Detroit Tigers

Led his conference with nine saves; his fastball has been recorded as high as 97 mph.

Logan Samuels, RHP, Montevallo

• eighth round, 251st overall, Atlanta Braves

Threw 69 strikeouts in 59⅔ innings last season; highest draft pick in Falcons history.

Zach Evans, INF, Lenoir-Rhyne

• ninth round, 270th overall, San Diego Padres

Started in all 105 games played for the Bears over his two years with the team; and batted .321 with 11 homers and 44 RBIs this past season.

Jacob Kroeger, LHP, Maryville

• 10th round, 311th overall, Atlanta Braves

Second Team All-American who broke the single-season school record for strikeouts with 117 in 2024; 18-5 career record.

Jake Jekielek, RHP, Northwood

• 10th round, 315th overall, Texas Rangers

Strong in conference play a season ago, going 3-0 with four saves and a 1.09 ERA; had 56 strikeouts to just five walks in 2024.

Sean Barnett, RHP/OF, Wingate

• 11th round, 330th overall, San Diego Padres

NCBWA First Team All-American who hit .354 and smashed 27 homers with 89 RBIs last year; also pitched 17⅔ innings in his career with the Bulldogs.

Griffin Kilander, RHP, Wayne State 

• 16th round, 477th overall, Boston Red Sox

First Wayne State draftee since current-pro Hunter Brown in 2019; he went 14-6 with a 3.61 ERA in his career with 136 strikeouts and just 43 walks.

Aidan Layton, RHP, Seton Hill 

• 17th round, 496th overall, Oakland Athletics

He was 7-2 on the mound with a 3.15 ERA in 2024; he limited opponents to a .216 batting average against him during his final year.

Matt Tiberia, RHP, Lynn

• 18th round, 543rd overall, Seattle Mariner

Just a sophomore; struck out 52 batters in 55⅓ innings pitched this past season for the Fighting Knights.

Michael Caldon, RHP, Felician

• 18th round, 549th overall, Baltimore Orioles

Strikeout machine, fanning 109 batters in just 75⅓ innings last season; went 6-3 in 13 starts..

Frank Elissalt, RHP, Nova Southeastern 

• 19th round, 563rd overall, New York Mets

Joins NSU’s deep pool of MLB draftees; had a 4.05 ERA in two seasons with the Sharks, striking out 119 players in 32 appearances.

Luke Lashutka, RHP, St. Leo

• 19th round, 574th overall, Miami Marlins

Led D-II in strikeout-to-walk ratio with a 9.27; dominated with the Lions in ‘24, going 10-1 with a 2.88 ERA across 15 starts.

Notable Former D-II Draft Picks

Numerous former stars from D-II schools have been drafted and gone on to carve solid careers for themselves in the big leagues. In recent times, one of the most notable top draftees from a D-II program is likely Nick Markakis, who was drafted seventh overall in 2003 out of Young Harris College (then a junior college) before going on to win three Gold Gloves and an All-Star nod during a strong 14-year career with the Baltimore Orioles and Atlanta Braves. 

Matt Joyce (Florida Southern) and Sergio Romo (Colorado Mesa) were also All-Stars in their major-league careers after both of their names were called in the 2005 draft, though unlike Markakis they both actually played at the D-II level in college. And then there’s Nova Southeastern, which has arguably the most stacked alumni list of any D-II baseball program over the past 20 years with six-time All-Star J.D. Martinez (20th round, 2009), former NL wins leader Miles Mikolas (seventh round, 2009), two-time no-hitter thrower Mike Fiers (22nd round, 2009) and former San Diego Padres infielder Carlos Asuaje (11th round, 2013) all being former Sharks.

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