Former Cal Poly center fielder Jake Steels was selected with the No. 551 overall pick in the 18th round by the Atlanta Braves in the 2024 MLB Draft on Tuesday.

The Santa Maria native joins his teammates Jakob Wright, Ryan Stafford and Steven Brooks as the fourth Mustang off the board in this year’s draft after what was his best year at Cal Poly.

This past season, Steels led the team with a .381 batting average and a 1.052 OPS while second on the team with 82 hits. The center fielder also held a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage and led the squad with 29 multi-hit games.

This stat line earned him 2024 All-Big West First-Team honors alongside Wright and freshman third baseman Alejandro Garza. He was also named to the ABCA NCAA Division I All-West Region Second Team alongside Wright.

Before transferring to Cal Poly, Steels played two seasons with the Allan Hancock College Bulldogs, breaking out in his sophomore year with a .416 average in 40 games along with a .505 on-base percentage and .633 slugging percentage. 

His performances earned him a spot on the All-Western State Conference first team and the WSC Gold Glove.

In his first season with the Mustangs, Steels served primarily as Cal Poly’s leadoff hitter, compiling a .318 average with 27 RBIs in 49 games. His 13 steals in that season were the most at Cal Poly since 2017.

The young center fielder follows in the footsteps of his father, former MLB player James Steels who played for the San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers, and San Francisco Giants from 1980 to 1992.

Steels joins a Braves farm system that ranks No. 26 in the MLB.