The
Hornets’ three draftees this year mark the first time since 2019 that three
Sacramento State players were selected in the same season when Austin Roberts
was picked by Pittsburgh in the eighth round, Tanner Dalton was selected by the
Chicago Cubs in the 17th round and Parker Brahms was drafted by the Los Angeles
Dodgers in the 27th round. Image courtesy of Sacramento State Athletics

SACRAMENTO,
CA (MPG) – Three Sacramento State baseball players were selected on day two of
the 2025 Major League Baseball Draft on Monday, as right-hander Carson Latimer
(Cincinnati), infielder JP Smith (Minnesota), and right-hander Kade Brown
(Athletics) were among the 615 players chosen overall during the league’s
two-day event.

This
year’s trio becomes the 30th, 31st, and 32nd Hornets either to be drafted or to
sign a professional contract with a Major League club under Head Coach Reggie
Christiansen since 2011 and marks the 19th consecutive season that a Sacramento
State baseball player has been drafted or signed since 2007.

Taken
with the 354th overall pick in the 12th round, Latimer became the highest
drafted Hornet since Travis Adams (sixth round) and Scott Randall (seventh
round) were top-10 round selections in 2021 and is the seventh Sacramento State
player drafted by the Reds in program history, the first since infielder Ray
Brown was selected in the 28th round in 1994.

In
his first season with the Hornets, Latimer made 15 appearances on the mound and
started seven games for Sacramento State, finishing 2-3 overall with 28
strikeouts in 36.2 innings of work. He struck out a season-high five in three
innings against Abilene Christian on April 5 and had four more strikeouts in
three innings against UT Arlington on March 22. Against California Baptist on
April 18, he allowed just one hit over four shutout innings, striking out three
Lancers.

Smith
was selected with the 509th overall pick in the 17th round by Minnesota and
became only the fourth Hornet to be drafted by the Twins in program history
joining Tanner Mendonca (17th round in 2013), Tyler Beardsley (16th round in
2016), and the aforementioned Adams, who made his Major League debut earlier
this month and picked up his first career victory on July 12.

A
first-team All-Western Athletic Conference selection for the second time in his
career in 2025, Smith finished the campaign hitting .291 while starting all 58
games, scoring 42 runs, collecting 18 doubles, and slugging 12 home runs to go
along with a team-high 52 RBI. He ranked in the top 15 in the WAC in hits
(t12th), RBI (t8th), doubles (6th), home runs (t9th), and total bases (10th).

Brown
became the third Sacramento State player selected on Monday, taken by the
Athletics in the 20th round (590th overall). It marked the second straight year
that the Athletics drafted a Hornet after taking infielder Gunner Gouldsmith in
the 19th round in 2024, while Brown became the ninth Sacramento State player to
go from Hornet green and gold to Athletics green and gold.

A
third-team All-America selection and finalist for the “Stopper of the Year” by
the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, Brown was a first-team
All-Western Athletic Conference selection in 2025, finishing 3-2 on the mound
with a 2.93 ERA, posted 49 strikeouts over 43 innings of work, and held
opponents to a .204 average. A three-time All-WAC selection during his career
and the school’s all-time leader in home runs with 48 over his three seasons,
Smith ranked in the top 15 in the WAC in hits (t12th), RBI (t8th), doubles
(6th), home runs (t9th), and total bases (10th) this past year.

The
Hornets’ three draftees this year mark the first time since 2019 that three
Sacramento State players were selected in the same season when Austin Roberts
was picked by Pittsburgh in the eighth round, Tanner Dalton was selected by the
Chicago Cubs in the 17th round and Parker Brahms was drafted by the Los Angeles
Dodgers in the 27th round.

It
also represents the first time that three Sacramento State players were drafted
in the top 20 rounds since 2003 when right-hander Chris Kinsey was selected by
Arizona in the fourth round, Jesse Schmidt was taken in the 10th round by San
Francisco and Mikela Olsen was take in the 15th round by Florida (now Miami).

In
all, 10 former Hornets have appeared in a Major League game in the history of
the program with five of them currently active on MLB rosters (as of July 14):
Rhys Hoskins (Milwaukee), Nathan Lukes (Toronto), Sam Long (Kansas City), James
Outman (Los Angeles Dodgers), and Adams (Minnesota). 

SACRAMENTO
STATE BASEBALL DRAFT PICKS BY THE CINCINNATI REDS

Keith
Brown, RHP, 1986 (21st round, 540th overall)

Doug
Eastman, OF, 1986 (25th round, 636th overall)

Scott
Selner, SS, 1987 (26th round, 643rd overall)

Bob
Blankenship, RHP, 1989 (21st round, 547th overall)

Eric
Bates, RHP, 1989 (31st round, 807th overall)

Ray
Brown, 1B, 1994 (28th round, 772nd overall)

Carson
Latimer, RHP, 2025 (12th round, 354th overall)

SACRAMENTO
STATE BASEBALL DRAFT PICKS BY THE MINNESOTA TWINS

Tanner
Mendonca, RHP, 2013 (17th round, 500th overall)

Tyler
Beardsley, RHP, 2016 (16th round, 483rd overall)

Travis
Adams, RHP, 2021 (6th round, 189th overall)

JP
Smith, IF, 2025 (17th round, 509th overall)

SACRAMENTO
STATE BASEBALL DRAFT PICKS BY THE ATHLETICS

Steve
Necoechea, 1B/OF, 1975

Dennis
Stowe, OF, 1980

John
Bulleri, P, 1980

Gary
Weinberger, OF, 1981 (23rd Round / 585th Overall)

Tim
Doyle, LHP, 1991 (6th Round / 178th Overall)

Blake
Crosby, 1B, 2009 (42nd Round / 1,263rd Overall)

Justin
Higley, OF, 2013 (13th Round / 401st Overall)

Gunner
Gouldsmith, IF, 2024 (19th round, 556th)

Kade
Brown, RHP, 2025 (20th round, 590th overall)