JSU baseball: White Sox take Gamecocks' Edwards in 11th round

Mark Edwards, The Anniston Star, Ala.
·1 min read

Jul. 13—Jacksonville State pitcher Christian Edwards was picked in the 11th round of the Major League Baseball draft Tuesday by the Chicago White Sox.

Edwards was an All-Ohio Valley Conference pitcher for the Gamecocks this past season. He was the regular Friday night starter this past spring after spending three years as one of the team's aces out of the bullpen. He was also named to the 2021 Southeast-American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings All-Region second team.

He finished this past season with a 2.48 ERA, which led the OVC. His ERA against OVC teams was 2.02.

The right-hander made 12 appearances with 11 starts. He struck out 83 batters in 69 innings and posted a 5-2 record. His strikeouts were tied for third in the league.

Edwards is the 66th JSU player to be picked in the MLB draft. He is the third picked by the White Sox, along with Todd Altaffer (1990) and Roger Mayo (1975).

He's the first JSU player picked since 2019 when JSU had two players picked: Nic Gaddis went in the 16th round to the New York Mets, and Garrett Farmer was taken in the 25th round by the Baltimore Orioles.

He is one of four OVC players taken in this year's draft:

—1st round (No. 20), Trey Sweeney, SS, Eastern Illinois (New York Yankees)

—3rd round (No. 96), Dylan Dodd, LHP, Southeast Missouri (Atlanta Braves)

—11th round (No. 335), Christian Edwards, RHP, Jacksonville State (Chicago White Sox)

—15th round (No. 452), Garrett Spain, OF, Austin Peay (Toronto Blue Jays)

Senior Editor Mark Edwards: 256-235-3570. On Twitter: @MarkSportsStar.