Long Beach State University Athletics
Two Dirtbags Selected on Final Day of MLB Draft
7/13/2021 11:37:00 AM | Baseball
Connor Kokx was selected 366th overall by the Indians while Johnathan Lavallee was selected 489th overall by the Twins.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – A pair of Dirtbags had their names called on the final day of the 2021 MLB Draft as Connor Kokx was selected in the 12th round by the Indians and Johnathan Lavallee was selected in the 16th round by the Twins.
That marks three Dirtbags to be chosen in the year's draft with Kokx being the first Cleveland selection since 2010 and Lavallee the first Minnesota selection since 2015.
Kokx has been a key piece for Long Beach State over the last two seasons posting a career slash line of .356/.466/.527 across 68 games. His career average is the highest by a Dirtbag since Paul McAnulty in 2002 while his on-base percentage ranks in the program's top ten.
His 2021 season was one for the books, leading the team in average (.366), runs (37), hits (59), total bases (92), walks (24), hit by pitch (16), stolen bases (14), fielding percentage (1.000), and tied for the best in the Big West with a .481 on-base percentage. He went on to be named a Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American and an All-Big West First Team selection.
His .366 average marks the highest by a Dirtbag since 2010 while the .481 OBP is the best since 2008. He also became just the seventeenth player to post a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage over the last 23 years.
Lavallee only made 16 appearances for Long Beach State after transferring in from LA Pierce College. However, in 73 career innings, he pitched to a 9-1 record with a 2.10 ERA. He also held opponents to a miniscule .177 average while totaling 80 strikeouts.
The junior right-hander started out of the bullpen, joining the rotation during the third weekend of the 2021 season, but went on to have one of the best seasons by a Dirtbag pitcher in the last decade. In 62 innings, he posted a 1.89 ERA with 73 punch-outs while walking just 16. Nationally, he ranked fifth in WHIP (0.82), tenth in hits allowed per nine (5.08), and his ERA was twelfth-lowest in all of NCAA.
He reeled in accolade after accolade, being named Big West Co-Pitcher of the Year to go along with a pair of All-America honors, an All-West Region selection, and a Big West First Team selection. His .160 opponent average in the 2021 campaign marked the lowest by a Dirtbag pitcher since 2005.
With two more selections today, the Dirtbags have now had at least two draftees every year since 1988 and three or more picks in five of the last six years.
