BASEBALL: Four UGA Pitchers Selected on Final Day of Major League Draft

Four Georgia Bulldog pitchers were selected on Tuesday’s final day of the 2022 Major League Baseball Draft.
 
Junior Dylan Ross, senior Shane Marshall, redshirt-sophomore Garrett Brown and senior All-America Jack Gowen all heard their name called. Ross was selected by the New York Mets in the 13th round, the Chicago Cubs drafted Marshall in the 14^th round and then Brown in the 18^th round while Gowen went to the Miami Marlins in the 20^th round. 
 
Ross, a 6-5, 251-pound native of Statesboro, Ga., was limited to just six innings for the Bulldogs this past season before being sidelined with an arm injury. He made two starts, going 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA, registering a win over Albany. He started against Wofford on March 1^st but only pitched one inning before leaving the game and eventually had season-ending surgery. He was ranked among the nation’s top junior college pitchers after a standout season at Northwest Florida State in 2021. That year, he went 6-2 with a 3.88 ERA in 12 starts for the Raiders, registering 77 strikeouts in 60.1 innings.
 
Marshall, a 6-4, 222-pound native of Naples, Fla., has seen most of his collegiate action as a catcher with just 1.2 career innings on the mound. However, he has flashed a mid-90s fastball. He tossed one scoreless inning against Gardner-Webb in 2021 and made two appearances this past season for a total of 0.2 innings with one strikeout. He pitched in relief against Texas A&M and Georgia State. Marshall appeared in 15 games with one start behind the plate in 2022. He was limited to 11 at bats, going 1-for-11 with a double, three RBI and two sacrifice bunts. In his Bulldog career as a position player, Marshall has appeared in 92 games with 46 starts. He has a .210 batting average with five doubles, two triples, one home run and 19 RBI.
 
Brown, a 6-7, 218-pound native of Manchester, Ga., went 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA in 12 appearances this past season. He made 10 starts, mostly on designated staff outings, and logged 25.2 innings with 17 strikeouts and 25 walks. In his Bulldog career, he has a 1-3 mark with a 6.64 ERA in 42 innings. He has 16 career appearances with 14 starts. Brown’s finest outing came in 2020 when he beat Kennesaw State and struck out eight over five innings. In four starts that year, he went 1-2 with a 4.96 ERA. He missed the 2021 season while recovering from elbow surgery.
 
Gowen, a 6-1, 220-pound native of Folkston, Ga., served as the team’s closer in 2022 and earned First Team All-America honors by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. A co-captain, he posted a 2-0 mark with 10 saves and a 2.39 ERA. In 37.2 innings, he tallied 50 strikeouts and just 18 walks. He excelled in SEC action, going 2-0 with a 2.95 ERA and seven saves. He was 10-for-10 in save opportunities this past year and only one of 11 inherited runners scored. For his career, Gowen went 3-1 with a 3.16 ERA and 11 saves. He made 61 relief appearances.
 
A sport management major, Ross is the first Bulldog selection by the Mets since 2018 when they drafted left-handed pitcher Kevin Smith in the seventh round. Smith, now in the Baltimore Orioles organization, is playing in Triple-A with Norfolk. Marshall and Brown, both sport management majors, are the first Bulldog selections by the Cubs since 2015 when they took pitcher Jared Cheek in the 21^st round. Gowen, who earned a degree in consumer economics, is the first Marlins selection since 2008 when they drafted pitcher Trevor Holder in the 10^th round.
 
Georgia had a total of six players selected in this year’s draft after finishing 36-23 and advancing to the NCAA Chapel Hill (N.C.) Regional. Georgia junior pitcher Jonathan Cannon (3^rd Round, Chicago White Sox) and senior second baseman Cory Acton (9^th Round, Atlanta Braves) were drafted Monday.
 
The Bulldogs have a string of 49 straight seasons with at least one player signing a professional contract. Also, Georgia has had at least one player drafted going back to 1987. Teams will have until Aug. 1 to sign their draft picks unless that player has exhausted their collegiate eligibility. Those players are free to sign up until one week before next year’s draft.
 
Under Ike Cousins head baseball coach Scott Stricklin, the Bulldogs now have had 38 players drafted. The 2022 MLB Draft was held over three days with 20 rounds. On Tuesday, the draft featured rounds 11-20. A total of 616 players were selected this year.

GEORGIA BULLDOGS IN THE 2022 MLB DRAFT

3^rd Round: Jonathan Cannon, RHP, Chicago White Sox

9^th Round: Cory Acton, 2B, Atlanta Braves

13^th Round: Dylan Ross, RHP, New York Mets

14^th Round: Shane Marshall, RHP, Chicago Cubs

18^th Round: Garrett Brown, RHP, Chicago Cubs

20^th Round: Jack Gowen, RHP, Miami Marlins

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