By: Matteen Zibanejadrad
KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State baseball team's Jake Rice was selected 258th overall in the 9th round of the 2021 MLB Draft on Monday evening, making the southpaw the 70th draft pick in KSU baseball history.
Hailing from Birmingham, Ala., Rice established himself as the Owls' ace in his lone season after transferring from Presbyterian College.
The six-foot-one hurler's memorable 2021 season included receiving ASUN First Team All-Conference honors and sporting the best 2021 earned-run average in the conference.
The Friday-night starter also ended his campaign with the second-most victories in the conference with nine. His 1.97 ERA tops the KSU record books as the best in the team's Division I era.
The graduate was named to the 2021 ABCA/Rawlings Southeast All-Region team last month, voted on by members of the American Baseball Coaches Association.
Rice started the season on an incredible run, as he was one of three college baseball pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched who hadn't allowed an earned run; he was joined in that category by a fellow All-Region selection, Vanderbilt's Kumar Rocker.
No performance highlighted the hurler's prowess quite like the team's 5-1 win against No. 24 Georgia Tech, where Rice allowed a single run off of three hits in his six innings of work. He struck out six Yellow Jackets in the win.
To keep up with the latest on the Kennesaw State baseball team, follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlNation and @KSUOwlsBaseball or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook.
