SAINT CLOUD – After being selected third overall by the Colorado Rockies on Sunday, Charlie Condon is the highest-drafted player in Rox and Northwoods League history. 

In 2022 Condon played 61 games for the St. Cloud Rox, leading the team with 68 RBI until they fell to Willmar in the Northwoods League quarterfinal. He also represented St. Cloud in the all-star game and home run challenge. Condon is the fourth Rox player to be drafted in the first round, joining Will Craig (2016), Michael Busch (2019), and Brice Matthews (2023). 

“There’s a lot of great players,” Rox GM Scott Schreiner said before the draft. “There are 300 Division I schools and another 500 junior colleges. Then take high school guys that are draft eligible – to have the number one guy here is pretty special.” 

Before signing Condon, Schreiner was hesitant to take a chance on an unproven redshirt freshman, but the player became a regular starter for the Rox during his first season of competitive high-level baseball. 

Condon set the single-season NCAA home run record (BBCOR era) in his most recent spring season with 37 and he was Georgia’s first Golden Spikes Award winner as a redshirt sophomore, honored as the nation’s top amateur player. Playing until the NCAA super regionals, the righty led all hitters in batting average and slugging percentage – which could be well-suited in Colorado’s hitter-friendly ballpark. Having played all over the outfield and at third base for the Bulldogs, many expected Condon to be picked first overall, but Cleveland and Cincinnati picked Oregon State infielder Travis Bazzana and Wake Forest pitcher with the first and second picks of the draft.  

“(Coors Field) is not a bad spot to be,” Condon said in a broadcast interview during the draft. “I’m really excited to be picked up by such a cool organization and I’m such excited to get started.” 

Condon was one of St. Cloud’s representatives in the 2022 Northwoods League home run challenge and he went 3-3 with two home runs in the all-star game, earning MVP honors.  

“He missed the first six days of school to finish the season with us,” Rox manager Nick Studdard said. 

Studdard was an assistant coach on the staff at the time and was impressed with Condon’s dedication. He said Condon’s success is a reminder to current players of the goal of playing for a big league club. Studdard remembered Condon as a great teammate and told a funny story of him buzzing off all of his long hair the week before the all-star game. 

Experts expect the 6-foot-six-inch, 216-point Condon to continue to develop as a hitter and he said he wants to continue being a utility player all around the field. He played first base for Georgia in 2023 before a summer season in the Cape Cod Baseball League. 

Based on Condon’s social media he still follows the Rox – on June 20 he retweeted a video the team account posted of a Trey King three-RBI triple. King will be a sophomore at Georgia next season. He and the Rox are back in town at 6:35 p.m. on Tuesday versus the Badlands Big Sticks as they grind for the second-half title and playoff spot. St. Cloud (9-6) is currently tied for first in the division with first-half winner Willmar. 

Contact reporter Reid Glenn at rglenn@gannett.com.