Austin Peay baseball has four players selected in 2024 MLB Draft

Four Austin Peay baseball players — Jon Jon Gazdar, Titan Kennedy-Hayes, Lyle Miller-Green and Tyler Hampu — were selected Tuesday on the final day of the 2024 MLB Draft.

The four Governors drafted is the most the program has had since 2016. APSU hadn't had any players drafted since 2021, when outfielder and Clarksville native Garrett Spain was picked in the 15th round, 452nd overall by the Toronto Blue Jays.

Gazdar went in the 11th round, 321st overall to the St. Louis Cardinals, becoming the highest APSU player drafted since left-handed pitcher Tyler Rogers went in the 10th round (312th overall) to the San Francisco Giants in 2013. Gazdar led APSU with a .405 batting average in 2024 and had 13 home runs, 55 RBIs, 21 doubles and a 1.151 on-base plus slugging percentage. The redshirt junior shortstop was named a second-team All-American by the American Baseball Coaches Association.

Kennedy-Hayes, a right-handed pitcher, was picked in the 11th round, 342nd overall by the Philadelphia Phillies. In 15 appearances and 20⅔ innings, the redshirt junior went 1-1 with a 3.48 ERA — the second-lowest on the team — and struck out 20 batters. He also recorded a team-high seven saves.

Miller-Green, the 2024 Atlantic Sun Player of the Year, went in the 17th round, 499th overall to the Chicago White Sox. A graduate student who played the outfield and pitched, Miller-Green hit .393 with 30 home runs, 94 RBIs, 17 doubles, 13 stolen bases and a 1.433 OPS. On the mound, the right-hander was 5-2 with an 8.23 ERA in 11 starts, striking out 43 in 50⅓ innings.

Miller-Green was named a first team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, Perfect Game and the College Baseball Foundation, becoming the first player in APSU history to receive such honors. In addition, he was named a second team All-American by the ABCA and third team All-American by Baseball American and D1Baseball.

Hampu, a senior right-hander, was taken in the 18th round, 528th overall by the Colorado Rockies. He had a 2-3 record, 7.76 ERA and two saves in 24 appearances, all out of the bullpen, and totaled 45 strikeouts in 29 innings.

Austin Peay went 35-21 in 2024, winning its most games since 2013 under second-year coach Roland Fanning. The Governors went 20-10 in ASUN play to tie for the regular-season title but lost both their games in the conference tournament. APSU led Division I in runs per game (10.9), batting average (.359) and home runs per game (2.61).

Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.