USTON — Louisiana Tech’s Ryan Jennings, Kyle Crigger, Taylor Young and Cade Gibson made history on Monday afternoon as the most Bulldogs selected in the first 10 rounds of a Major League draft.
The last and only time LA Tech has had multiple players drafted in the top 10 rounds was in 1990 when Kevin McGehee and Phil Hiatt were drafted four picks apart from each other in the eighth round.
Jennings was the first Bulldog taken off the board, selected 128th overall in the fourth round by the Toronto Blue Jays. The right-handed pitcher spent three years in the red and blue and was a weekend starter for the past two seasons.
The New Braunfels native led the pitching staff in innings pitched (90.1) and strikeouts (95) in 2022.
Crigger was the next Bulldog selected as he went in the seventh round with the 202nd pick to the Miami Marlins.
HE broke the all-time appearance record at Tech with 37 on his way to First-Team All-Conference honors, C-USA All-Tournament honors and ABCA/Rawlings Second Team All-Region honors.
The Corinth, Mississippi, native tossed in 69.0 innings with a 2.35 ERA and 10 saves. Crigger put together a 19.1 stretch of not allowing an earned run in his senior season with the Bulldogs.
Young was the third Bulldog taken in the draft, going 255th overall in the eighth round to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The West Monroe native spent all five years at LA Tech under head coach Lane Burroughs. Young put together arguably one of the greatest careers in a Bulldog uniform as he hit a career .330 and broke the LA Tech all-time games played, runs and hits record.
In his senior season he hit .364 with 12 home runs, four triples, 23 doubles, 58 walks, 28 stolen bases and led the nation with 89 runs scored for a second straight year.
Gibson was the final Bulldog taken on day two of the 2022 MLB Draft as the Miami Marlins selected him 292nd overall in the 10th round. The Ruston native spent four years at LA Tech and spent 2021 and 2022 as a weekend starter. The left-hander was a Second Team All-Conference USA honoree in his senior campaign. Gibson posted a 93-19 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 85 innings pitched.
He made his first start of the season at home in a 11-6 win over No. 2 LSU. The sixth-year senior fanned eight Tigers in five innings of work. He also recorded a career-high nine strikeouts at Southern Miss and broke it the very next week against Rice with 10.