LSU baseball signee and top prospect Paxton Kling pulls out of 2022 MLB Draft

BATON ROUGE - LSU baseball signee Paxton Kling has taken his name out of the 2022 MLB Draft, he announced on Twitter Wednesday.

Kling, an outfielder, is the No. 51 MLB Draft prospect in The Athletic's rankings. He attended Central High School in Martinsburg, Pennsylvania.

The MLB Draft is from July 17-19.

"I am excited to be a Tiger and help compete for a National Championship! Geaux Tigers," Kling wrote.

Kling won the 2021-22 Gatorade Player of the Year in Pennsylvania, posting a .585 batting average with four home runs and 33 stolen bases this spring. He is the No. 1 player in the state, according to Perfect Game.

LSU enters the draft with the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation, per Perfect Game.

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Kling joins an LSU roster that is evolving this offseason. The Tigers have loaded up from the transfer portal, adding ACC Freshman of the Year and NC State first baseman Tommy White, UCLA pitcher Thatcher Hurd, Vanderbilt shortstop Carter Young, Vanderbilt pitcher Christian White, Baylor shortstop Jack Pineda and Creighton pitcher and two-time Big East Pitcher of the Year and Creighton pitcher Dylan Tebrake.

Koki Riley covers LSU sports for The Daily Advertiser and the USA TODAY Sports South Region. Email him at kriley@theadvertiser.com and follow him on Twitter at @KokiRiley.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU baseball signee Paxton Kling pulls out of 2022 MLB Draft