BGSU's Archer selected in 12th round by Chicago White Sox in MLB draft

BOWLING GREEN — Bowling Green State University baseball player Nathan Archer was selected in the 12th round by the Chicago White Sox in the 2024 MLB draft on Tuesday.

Archer was the 349th pick overall. He became the first Falcon player drafted since Trey Keegan and Brian Bien were chosen in 2015, as well as the program’s earliest draft pick since 2005 when BGSU hall of famer Nolan Reimold was taken in the second round by Baltimore.

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Nathan Archer is the 13th Bowling Green player to be selected in the 12th round or better in the MLB draft. Here are the others. Highest level achieved is in parentheses.

■ Round 2 : DH/LF Nolan Reimold, 2005 (MLB)

■ Round 2 : P Carl Moraw, 1985 (Double-A)

■ Round 2: P Doug Bair, 1971 (MLB)

■ Round 3: P Roger McDowell, 1982 (MLB)

■ Round 3: P David Meites, 1972 (n/a)

■ Round 7: P Tony Fontana, 2000 (Double-A)

■ Round 8: 2B John Knox, 1970 (MLB)

■ Round 9: OF Jeff Groth, 1978 (n/a)

■ Round 10: P Joe Holland, 1997 (n/a)

■ Round 11: P Gary Reiter, 1979 (Triple-A)

■ Round 12: P Eric Stachler, 1995 (High-A)

Source: The Baseball Cube

The deadline for 2024 MLB draftees to sign with their teams is 5 p.m. Aug. 1. Archer, who couldn’t be reached for comment on Tuesday, could return to BGSU, as well; he has one season of college eligibility remaining.

Archer, a 6-foot, 175-pound center fielder, had a historic three-years at BGSU, which included being named the 2024 Mid-American Conference player of the year. The left-hander helped the Falcons (33-20, 24-6 MAC) win their first regular-season league title since 2009.

A two-time all-MAC honoree, as well as a two-time MAC defensive team selection, Archer posted a .299 batting average, 33 doubles, 10 triples, 35 home runs, 136 runs, 137 RBIs, and 39 stolen bases. Out of BGSU’s 155 games the past three seasons, he started 153 of the 154 he appeared in.

Archer’s selection in the MLB draft is the first in four years under BGSU coach Kyle Hallock, as well. The 2024 MAC coach of the year is grateful for what Archer did for BGSU, and he is expecting the former Falcon to start a trend of players in the program getting opportunities at the next level.

“I think that’s one of the things we looked at when we were talking about getting this program going to places that it’s been before. You need draftable talent to win games in our conference, and Nathan’s going to be the first of a string of guys that we expect to get drafted over these next few years based on what we’ve seen,” Hallock said. “He’s going to lead us off just like he did in the lineup, and other guys are going to come up behind him and they’ll follow suit.

“We’re fortunate that he stuck with us, he stuck with the process. He works really hard in practice, and everything that people got to enjoy on Friday, Saturday, Sunday in the games was a result of what he did Monday through Thursday and behind the scenes. He’s leading us off in every way, and couldn’t be more excited for him. Very deserving to have that honor when you talk about this era of baseball that we’re entering in our history books.”