Ryan Nicholson, Trey Pooser Selected on Second Day of MLB Draft
Kentucky first baseman Ryan Nicholson and right-handed pitcher Trey Pooser each were selected in the 10th round of the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft on Tuesday, bringing UK’s total draftees to four this season.
Kentucky also had a pair of transfer commitments selected on Day Two, leaving their future plans in flux. The draft’s final day, rounds 11-20, continue Tuesday at 2 p.m. ET on MLB.com.
Nicholson, a graduate from Louisville, Kentucky, was selected 292nd overall by the Los Angeles Angels and Pooser 306th by the Tampa Bay Rays, who also took teammate Emilien Pitre in the second round. Ryan Waldschmidt became UK’s seventh first rounder in history when taken by Arizona.
Monday’s selection put a bow on the collegiate careers of two graduate transfers who believed in themselves and won big with breakout 2024 seasons that saw each of them shine in the toughest conference in America. Both also starred at The Greatest Show on Dirt, the Men’s College World Series in Omaha.
Nicholson hit 23 home runs to tie the school’s single-season record. He clubbed five round trippers in the NCAA Tournament, including a ninth-inning, game-tying blast at the MCWS against NC State. He belted multiple homers in the same game five times and drilled one at Louisville, the city he played his high school baseball and calls home.
For the season, Nicholson hit .306 with 47 runs, 10 doubles, 23 homers, 63 RBI and a 1.094 OPS. The RBI rank among the Top 10 single seasons at UK and his .689 slugging percentage is the second highest in the coach Nick Mingione era.
Pooser, from Hanahan, South Carolina, became the Wildcats’ de facto ace as he sliced his way through Friday nights in the SEC after beginning the season as a reliever. He went 7-1 with a 3.50 earned run average in 90 innings, allowing 70 hits and striking out 82. Opponents hit just .211 off him.
“Postseason” Poos was even better. He had a win in the SEC Tournament while matched up against Arkansas ace Hagen Smith and two more in the Regional and Super Regional before receiving a no decision in the MCWS. He allowed just four runs in 25.2 postseason innings.
