Trey Yesavage is the latest East Carolina baseball player to be selected in the Major League Baseball Draft.
The right-handed pitcher was selected with the 20th overall pick in the first round by the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday. At No. 20, Yesavage is the second-highest draft pick in ECU history behind pitcher Jeff Hoffman, a 2024 All-Star who was picked with the ninth selection in 2014.
Yesavage is also the highest draft pick under coach Cliff Godwin, who has produced 23 draftees in his 10 years as head coach. Current Cleveland Guardians pitcher Gavin Williams was also a first-round selection (pick No. 23 in 2021).
Yesavage is the ninth draft selection for the program since 2020, a group that includes current MLB players Alec Burleson (St. Louis Cardinals) and Williams. Connor Norby (Baltimore Orioles) also made his MLB debut in June before returning to Triple-A.
The Pirates’ ace was named a first-team All-American by six different organizations. The only other player in program history to earn six first-team All-American honors in the same season was Williams in 2021. Yesavage also won the American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year award.
He finished the season ranked second in WHIP (0.87) and fewest hits allowed per nine innings (4.73), third in earned run average (2.03), fifth in strikeouts (145) and victories (11) and ninth in strikeouts per nine innings (13.98).
Over 15 appearances, Yesavage notched double-digit strikeouts eight times and ended the year tied with Jake Agnos for the ECU and AAC single-season strikeout records. He fanned a career-high 15 batters in the Pirates’ 6-4 win over Wichita State on April 19 and posted no fewer than five strikeouts in every contest.
Yesavage began his career at ECU as a hard-throwing reliever during a freshman season that was marked by inconsistent control. The talent and ability was evident from the start, and it soon blossomed into a real force as he harnessed his control and discovered how to throw multiple pitches for strikes.
It all culminated this season as the 6-foot-4 junior from Boyertown, Pa.turned in one of the more dominant seasons in memory.
Anyone who watched Yesavage pitch this season understood that he was capable of doing something special each outing. It was clear that he was better than his competition. The junior simply overpowered entire lineups for as long as he was in the game.
During one stretch of five starts this season, Yesavage went on a dominant run and carried the Pirates to series-opening wins each Friday. He struck out at least 11 batters in all five of those starts over 32.2 innings.
Here’s a look at some of Yesavage’s most dominant starts this season:
April 5 — at FAU
Coming off a shaky start to AAC play where he gave up four runs in a road loss to UTSA, Yesavage bounced back in his next conference road start to dominate the Owls. He scattered three hits and struck out 11 over seven scoreless innings.
This was the first game in a five-game stretch that Yesavage struck out at least 11 batters
April 12 — Charlotte
ECU picked up an 11-0, seven-inning run-rule victory behind a standout pitching performance. Not only did the offense erupt for 11 runs, but Yesavage would have made one run work. He didn’t allow a hit over 6.0 innings, but with 108 pitches he didn’t finish the game.
Jackson DiLorenzo came on to pitch a clean seventh inning and the Pirates combined for a no-hitter.
Yesavage struck out 12 in the win.
April 19 — Wichita State
Just one week after throwing six no-hit innings in a combined no-hitter, Yesavage somehow found another level as he toyed with the Shockers’ batters all game. The Pirates’ ace racked up a career-high 15 strikeouts in the win.
June 1 — Wake Forest
Pitching in his first game since suffering a partially collapsed lung, Yesavage returned to the mound for the second game — an elimination game — of the Greenville Regional against betting favorite Wake Forest and No. 2 overall draft pick Chase Burns.
It was a classic pitcher’s duel, with Yesavage and Burns taking turns mowing down their respective opponents. ECU’s Dixon Williams got to Burns with a home run in the middle innings, and Yesavage went on to strike out six while allowing one run over 7.1 innings.
His performance in outdueling the best RHP in the then-upcoming draft helped to keep ECU alive in the Regional.
It was Yesavage’s final start as a Pirate.
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