The 2024 MLB draft added more NCAA talent to the professional ranks. The first amateur Major League Baseball draft took place in 1965. Since then, 1,646 players have been drafted in the first round of the MLB draft.
Of those, over 700 came from an NCAA school.
No school is more represented on that list than Stanford. The Cardinal added another first rounder in 2024 after Malcolm Moore was selected No. 30 overall by the Texas Rangers. The selection came a year after Tommy Troy was drafted No. 12 by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2023.
Arizona State and Vanderbilt aren’t far behind with its total number of draft picks. The Sun Devils’ Spencer Torkelson went No. 1 overall in 2020 and Commodore Enrique Bradfield Jr. was selected No. 17 overall by the Baltimore Orioles in 2024.
There are almost 100 other NCAA schools that have had at least two players taken in the first round.
Based on data from MLB.com, here’s a list of schools with the most first-round draft picks:
*Note: Only first-round picks from the primary June draft were considered, meaning draftees from secondary drafts and supplemental picks were omitted.
| RANK | COLLEGE | FIRST-ROUND DRAFT PICKS | NO. 1 OVERALL PICKS | CONFERENCE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stanford | 24 | 1 | Pac-12 |
| T-2 | Arizona State | 21 | 4 | Pac-12 |
| T-2 | Vanderbilt | 21 | 2 | SEC |
| 4 | Florida State | 18 | 1 | ACC |
| T-5 | Texas | 17 | 0 | Big 12 |
| T-5 | North Carolina | 17 | 1 | ACC |
| 7 | LSU | 15 | 2 | SEC |
| T-8 | Southern California | 14 | 0 | Pac-12 |
| T-8 | UCLA | 14 | 1 | Pac-12 |
| T-8 | Florida | 14 | 0 | SEC |
| 11 | Clemson | 13 | 1 | ACC |
| T-12 | Cal State Fullerton | 12 | 1 | Big West |
| T-12 | Arizona | 12 | 0 | Pac-12 |
| T-12 | Wake Forest | 12 | 0 | ACC |
| T-12 | Mississippi State | 12 | 0 | SEC |
| T-16 | Rice | 11 | 1 | American |
| T-16 | Wichita State | 11 | 0 | American |
| T-16 | Oklahoma | 11 | 0 | Big 12 |
| T-16 | Tennessee | 11 | 0 | SEC |
TWO-TIME CHAMPS: Players to win a CWS and MLB World Series
Only 29 of the No. 1 draft picks since 1965 have been from NCAA schools, and the SEC, ACC and Pac-12 combine for 19 of them. Those three conferences account for close to half of all NCAA first-round draftees since 1965.
But no individual school has more No. 1 overall picks than Arizona State.
The very first player ever taken in the amateur draft was Arizona State outfielder Rick Monday, drafted No. 1 overall in 1965 by the Kansas City Athletics. In 1976, the Houston Astros selected pitcher Floyd Bannister, and in 1978, the Atlanta Braves took outfielder Bob Horner, both Sun Devils. Torkelson then joined the list in 2020 after the Detroit Tigers chose the ASU first baseman with the top pick.
MORE: College World Series: MLB No. 1 overall draft picks to play in the CWS
When Oregon State’s Travis Bazzana was selected first overall in 2024, the Beavers joined the exclusive list of schools with multiple No. 1 draft picks. Vanderbilt and LSU are the only other schools to have more than one player taken first overall.
