LAKELAND, Fla. – Florida Southern College baseball's
Drew Cavanaugh was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the 17
th round, pick 510 in the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft. Cavanaugh is the 130
th Moccasin selected in the MLB Draft.
Cavanaugh had an incredible first year with the Moccasins after 46 starts on the year, with nearly each of the starts behind the plate. The Rochester Hills, Mass. native finished with a .316 batting average and a team-high 12 home runs, and a .588 slugging percentage. He also led the team in on-base percentage with .441. A member of the All-SSC First Team, All-SSC Defensive team, and ABCA South Region All-Defensive Team, Cavanaugh was incredible at catcher with a .987 fielding percentage and 21 caught stealing (a conference-high). He was also named to the ABCA/Rawlings, NCBWA, and D2CCA All-South First Teams after thr 2023 campaign.
Cavanaugh is the fifth Moccasin to be drafted by the Giants, joining head coach
Lance Niekro '10, who was drafted in 2000. Florida Southern's last draft selection was Vaun Brown, who was also selected by the Giants in 2021. The Mocs had 143 draft selections and another 60 athletes signed as an undrafted free agent. Most recently, the Los Angeles Angels signed FSC alum
Ryan Langford '22 as an undrafted free agent, who is currently on assignment with the Inland Empire. A total of seven Moccasins are in professional baseball, ranging from Class A to AAA. A total of 12 Mocs have made it to the Majors, including Niekro's four seasons with the San Francisco Giants. Florida Southern holds a Division II record of nine NCAA National Championships.
Fellow SSC opponent Nova Southeastern saw Carlos Rey (pitcher) selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 17th round, pick 505, as the only other SSC athlete selected in the 2023 MLB Draft.
