PHOTOS: Kevin Smith and Keegan McGovern Selected in MLB Draft

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PHOTOS: Kevin Smith and Keegan McGovern Selected in MLB Draft

 

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Georgia junior left-handed pitcher Kevin Smith has been selected by the New York Mets in the seventh round of the 2018 Major League Baseball Draft Tuesday.

Smith, a 6-5, 233-pound native of Dunwoody, Ga., led the 2018 squad to an NCAA Regional with an 8-1 record and 3.69 ERA in 22 appearances including seven starts. In 63.1 innings, he tallied 79 strikeouts, 25 walks and held opponents to a .233 batting average. In his final two starts of the regular season, Smith beat No. 1 Florida 4-1 in Gainesville, Fla., and No. 6 Arkansas 3-2 in Athens. He had a career-high 11 strikeouts in the win over Arkansas and earned SEC Pitcher of the Week honors.
 
 

 
 
In his Bulldog career, Smith is 18-7 with a 4.17 ERA in 55 games including 26 starts. He has tallied 170.1 innings with 77 walks and 186 strikeouts. A regular member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll, Smith is majoring in Management.
 
 


 
 

 

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Georgia senior outfielder Keegan McGovern has been selected by the Seattle Mariners in the ninth round of the 2018 Major League Baseball Draft Tuesday.

McGovern, a 6-2, 220-pound native of Willacoochee, Ga., played in 219 games including 212 starts for the Bulldogs and earned Third Team All-American honors by Baseball America in 2018. A first-team All-SEC selection, he batted .319 with a team-high 18 home runs and 50 RBI this past season in leading Georgia to a 39-21 record and an appearance in an NCAA Regional.

In his Bulldog career, McGovern posted a .287 batting average with 29 home runs, 123 RBI, 160 runs scored and 134 walks. A standout in the classroom majoring in Biology, McGovern was named the 2018 SEC Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year too. He is the second current Bulldog to be drafted, joining junior left-handed pitcher Kevin Smith (7thround, New York Mets).

Georgia has a string of 45 straight seasons with at least one player signing a professional contract. Under Georgia’s Ike Cousins head baseball coach Scott Stricklin, 18 Bulldogs have embarked on a professional career.

The MLB draft began Monday with the first two rounds while Tuesday’s slate featured rounds three-10. The draft concludes Wednesday with rounds 11-40 starting at noon. Fans can watch live on MLB.com. The MLB signing deadline for underclassmen and high school seniors selected in this year’s draft is July 6 at 5 pm ET.
 
 

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