STARKVILLE – On the final day of the 2021 Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft, the Mississippi State baseball program saw the fifth member of the program selected, as Rowdey Jordan was taken by the New York Mets.

Jordan was selected with the 322nd overall pick of the draft when the New York Mets took him in the 11th round. It marked the 17th time in program history that MSU had five-or-more current student-athletes drafted in the MLB June Regular Draft. The pick by the Mets was the 11th that the organization used on a Diamond Dawg, the second-most all-time in MSU’s draft history (12 – Texas Rangers).

Second-year freshman Will Bednar became the 18th Diamond Dawg selected in the first round of the MLB Draft when the San Francisco Giants picked him with the No. 14 overall pick on day one. Day two saw Tanner Allen (No. 118) picked by the Miami Marlins, Eric Cerantola (No. 139) by the Kansas City Royals and Christian MacLeod (No. 159) by the Minnesota Twins.

In the MLB Draft, Mississippi State has heard 179 student-athletes’ names called at the event for a total of 220 draft picks overall. In the June Regular Draft, State has seen 68 taken in the first 10 rounds with 36 selected in the first five rounds, including the 17 first rounders – which ranks No. 8 in NCAA history.

Under head coach Chris Lemonis, Mississippi State has seen 19 student-athletes drafted in the MLB Draft, including four going in the first round. Of the 19 total picks, an MSU record-tying 11 were selected in the 2019 draft, while three went in the abbreviated, five-round draft in 2020 – each in the first 52 picks. Lemonis also has nine draft picks in the first five rounds of the draft during his MSU tenure.

The 26 draft picks over the last four seasons rank second in a four-year span in Mississippi State history, behind the 32 selections from 2016-19.

Rowdey Jordan  |  OF  |  Auburn, Alabama

The table-setter for the 2021 National Championship season, Jordan reached base safely in 63 of 68 starts and collected at least one hit in 54 of those games. His 24 multi-hit games ranked No. 2 on the team and the switch-hitting outfielder reached base multiple times in 43 contests during the season.

In 2021, Jordan led the SEC with 74 runs scored and 22 doubles, while he ranked among the conference and national leaders in hits (87), hit-by-pitch (17) and total bases (147). For his career, Jordan ranks among the top 20 in MSU history in doubles (No. 7; 54), runs scored (No. 12; 185) and hits (No. 20; 243). He finished his career with a .311 batting average and a .393 on-base percentage in 208 games played. Jordan was at his best during the College World Series, leading the field with 10 hits in Omaha. He ended his three trips to the CWS with 15 career hits, which tied Tanner Allen for the most by a Diamond Dawg in program history.