Andrew Sears selected in 10th round of MLB Draft

The first former UConn baseball player is off the board in the 2023 MLB First Year Player Draft, as left-handed pitcher Andrew Sears was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 10th round (No. 290 overall). The full slot value of the pick is $170,300. If he does not sign with Detroit, he can return to UConn for up to two more seasons. However, this is relatively unlikely as the organization will lose that slot value from its bonus pool to sign other draftees.

A former Husky has been selected in each draft, except for the shortened five-round draft in 2020, since 2006.

The Rhode Island native came to Storrs after two years at Division III Rhode Island College and a particularly dominant 2022 in which batters hit just .201 against him and he threw two complete game shutouts.

He was more uneven in a UConn uniform, where he had 74 strikeouts in 62 innings, good for 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings. He had a 6.24 ERA and struggled with contact with a 1.37 WHIP. However, he showed flashes of greatness most notably with 5 ¹⁄₃ three-hit, shutout innings against San Diego State, but also was ineffective when he didn’t have his best stuff, as he didn’t complete the fourth inning in five of his 14 starts.

He has some deception in his delivery from the left side and throws from the first-base side of the rubber, which makes it even harder for left-handed hitters to see the ball out of his hand.

Day 3 of the draft, which will include Rounds 11-20, will begin at 2 p.m. and can be streamed on MLB.com.