MANHATTAN, Kan. – Two more K-State Wildcats heard their names called on the second day of the 2021 Major League Baseball Draft, as right-handed pitcher Carson Seymour was selected in the sixth round (No. 172 overall) by the New York Mets and outfielder Zach Kokoska was taken by the Colorado Rockies in the 10th round (No. 290 overall) on Monday.
Seymour's and Kokoska's selections, along with Jordan Wicks being taken in the first round, mark the first time K-State has had three players taken within the first 10 rounds since 2011. It is also the first time since 2011 that the Wildcats have had two or more pitchers taken in the first 10 rounds.
Seymour made 10 weekend starts and four relief appearances in 2021, totaling 57 strikeouts while turning in a pair of quality starts. He punched out a season-high seven hitters in back-to-back starts (March 20 vs. New Mexico and March 27 at Oklahoma State). Seymour went 3-4 with a 6.19 ERA over 56 2/3 innings.
In his final outing of the season, Seymour logged six innings in relief in a 9-4 win over Baylor at the Big 12 Championship, striking out six and scattering five hits in allowing three earned runs. As a reliever, Seymour totaled 12 2/3 inning with 16 strikeouts and one walk.
In a shortened 2020 season, Seymour made four weekend starts with a 2-2 record and 3.92 ERA. He struck out a career-high nine hitters in his final start of the 2020 season at Stanford. The Temecula, California, native has been rated as high as the 36th-best collegiate prospect.
Kokoska led the Wildcats in all three slash categories with a .363 average, .445 on-base percentage and .675 slugging percentage. The junior outfielder set career-best marks in home runs (15), RBI (46) and led the team with 19 doubles on his way to being named ABCA/Rawlings All-Central Region First Team.
The Latrobe, Pennsylvania, product was a 2021 All-Big 12 Second Team selection and was voted onto the Big 12's All-Tournament Team following K-State's run to the semifinal round at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship.
Kokoska strung together a career-long 41-game on-base streak during the season, including a stretch of seven consecutive multi-hit games. His on-base streak marked the second-longest by a Wildcat in the Big 12 era.
Seymour becomes the fourth Wildcat selected by the New York Mets and first since Jared King in 2013. Kokoska is the fifth chosen by the Colorado Rockies and first since Tyler Stover in 2013.
The three total selections in this year's Draft are the most since 2017, when four Wildcats were chosen in a 40-round Draft.
Head coach Pete Hughes has now tutored 78 draftees in his 24-year head coaching career, as Seymour and Kokoska become the 19th and 20th taken within the first 10 rounds. The pair mark the third and fourth draft picks in Hughes' three seasons at K-State, all coming within the first 10 rounds.