FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) — Triston “Murf” Gray heard his name called in the 2nd round of the Major League Baseball Draft on Sunday evening.
The Madera native and Fresno State third baseman is headed to the Pittsburgh Pirates organization with the 73rd overall pick.
Gray is coming off a strong junior season that saw him named Mountain West Co-Player of the Year. He held a .324 batting average with 18 home runs and 73 runs batted in.
The Madera South HS grad is the 1st Fresno State baseball player to be drafted in the top two rounds of the MLB Draft since pitcher Ryan Jensen in 2019 (1st – 27th overall).
Gray represents Fresno State’s highest position player picked in the MLB Draft since Taylor Ward (1st – 26th) in 2015.
The 6-4, 230-pound slugger was a catalyst for the Diamond ‘Dogs winning back-to-back Mountain West championships. Gray was named Tournament MVP during both title runs.
His star potential was evident the moment he stepped on campus; he earned Mountain West Freshman of the Year honors in 2023.
Despite only playing three years at Fresno State, Gray ranks 7th in school history in career home runs (36), 6th in career RBI (163), and 6th in career doubles (51).