Baseball Team Hopeful as MLB Draft Approaches

RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft gets underway Sunday, and UTRGV is hopeful to have at least one player drafted for the seventh time in 13 years.
The first two rounds will be broadcast live on MLB Network and ESPN Sunday with pre-draft coverage beginning at 5 p.m. and the draft starting at 6 p.m. Only the first round will be on ESPN while the entire first day will be on MLB Network. Rounds 3-10 get underway Monday at 1 p.m. followed by the final 10 rounds on Tuesday at 1 p.m., with coverage of rounds 3-20 on MLB.com and ESPN+.

All student-athletes at four-year institutions, such as UTRGV, that have completed at least three years, as well as high school seniors and junior college student-athletes are eligible for the draft.

A club generally retains the rights to sign a selected player until 11:59 PM (EDT) on August 1, or until the player enters, or returns to, a four-year college on a full-time basis. A player who is drafted and does not sign with the club that selected him may be drafted again during a future year’s draft, so long as the player is eligible for that year’s draft. A club may not select a player again in a subsequent year, unless the player has consented to the re-selection.

A player who is eligible to be selected and is passed over by every club becomes a free agent and may sign with any club until the player enters, or returns to, a four-year college full-time or enters, or returns to, a junior college.

CJ Valdez has already signed professionally with the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks of the independent American Association but remains eligible for the MLB Draft. Check out his current stats here.

The last time a UTRGV student-athlete was drafted was 2019, when the Washington Nationals selected infielder Anthony Gomez (2016-19) in the 34^th round. Gomez was the 37^th student-athlete to be selected in the MLB Draft in program history.

UTRGV currently has seven alumni playing professional baseball, including Valdez (2024), Brandon Pimentel (2022-23), who is with the Fredericksburg Nationals, the Single-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, Kevin Stevens (2020-22), who is with the Somerset Patriots, the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, Colten Davis (2019-23), who is also playing with the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, J.C. Ariza (2021-23), who is pitching for the Yolo High Wheelers of the Pioneer League, Roberto Gonzalez (2023), who is playing with the Great Falls Voyagers of the Pioneer League, and Kris Massey (2023), who is pitching for the Northern Colorado Owlz of the Pioneer League.