Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns right-hander Jackson Nezuh became the third player selected in the 2023 Major League Draft on Tuesday when he was a 14th-round selection (overall pick No. 434) of the Houston Astros.
Nezuh posted a 9-6 record with a 6.00 earned run average in his first season with the Ragin’ Cajuns, who earned their 18th trip to the NCAA Regionals in 2023. The St. Cloud, Fla., native fanned 100 batters to finish fourth among Sun Belt Conference pitchers while being one of three SBC pitchers to start a league-high 18 games.
He opened the season winning his first four decisions of the season which was highlighted by an 8.0-inning, 1-hit performance against Arkansas State. Nezuh struck out a career-high nine batters in games against Arkansas State and Texas State while leading the team with four quality starts.
Nezuh joined outfielder Carson Roccaforte (2nd round competitive balance, No. 66 overall – Kansas City) and battery mate Julian Brock (8th round – No. 231 – Texas), who were each drafted on Sunday and Monday, respectively.
Louisiana catcher Julian Brock became the 16th player selected by the Texas Rangers in school history when the junior was the 231st overall pick (eighth round) in the 2023 MLB Draft on Monday.
The final day of the MLB Draft will conclude Tuesday with Rounds 11-20 beginning at 1 p.m. The annual draft is available on MLB.com.
Brock, a native of Fulshear, Texas, earned first-team ABCA/Rawlings All-Region and All-Louisiana honors after hitting .315 with a team-best 11 home runs and 65 RBI on the season.
The second-team All-SBC pick was a Buster Posey Watch List semifinalist and ranked among the SBC leaders offensively in average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, RBI, doubles, sac flies
Brock ranked among the top 5 among SBC players in total chances, putouts, and runners caught stealing. He finished fourth overall with 19 multi-hit games and was the team leader with 18 multi-RBI games.
The backstop who joined Jonathan Lucroy (2007), Paul Bako (1993), Alton Torregano (1972), and Danny Massiatte (2000) as Ragin’ Cajun’s catchers drafted in the top-10 round, started in 63 of 65 games behind the plate and belted three of Louisiana’s five grand slams in 2023.
Brock is the second Ragin’ Cajun to be selected in the 2023 MLB Draft after outfielder Carson Roccaforte was a second-round, competitive balance pick by Kansas City on Sunday. The selection of Roccaforte and Brock marked the ninth time in school history Louisiana had multiple players picked in the top 10 rounds.
Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns outfielder Carson Roccaforte became the fourth-highest draft selection in school history when he was selected by the Kansas City Royals on Sunday in the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft.
Roccaforte, the No. 66 overall pick, posted a .325 career batting average in three seasons at Louisiana where he earned first-team All-Sun Belt Conference and All-ABCA South Central Region honors as a sophomore.
The Port Neches, Texas, native hit .318 with eight home runs, 55 RBI and 22 stolen bases for the Ragin’ Cajuns in 2023 and helping the team to their second straight berth to the NCAA Regionals. Roccaforte ranked among the SBC leaders in runs scored and was one of two players to start every game for Louisiana in 2023.
Roccaforte was third for Louisiana in multi-hit (20) and tied for second with 13 multi-RBI games. Games. He posted an 11-game hit streak during the season and had streaks of 32 and 24 straight games of reaching base.
In Louisiana’s final game of the 2023 season against Miami in the NCAA Coral Gables Regional, Roccaforte set the single-season record for doubles in a season (26) and broke the previous mark which stood since 1989.
The second day of the MLB Draft resumes on Monday with rounds 3-10 before the final 10 rounds are picked on Tuesday.
