OSU release – CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State has another No. 1 overall selection. Second baseman Travis Bazzana was selected first overall by the Cleveland Guardians Sunday to open the 2024 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Bazzana is the second No. 1 overall pick in Oregon State history, following Adley Rutschman in 2019 by Baltimore. Oregon State, meanwhile, becomes just the fourth college program with at least two No. 1 overall selections, joining Arizona State, LSU and Vanderbilt. Bazzana is the 14th first-rounder in OSU’s history, and first since left-handed pitcher Cooper Hjerpe in 2022. Bazzana is the third Beaver to go in the top-five since 2018 – Nick Madrigal was selected fourth overall in 2018 – making Oregon State and Vanderbilt the only teams in the country with that distinction. In three seasons at Oregon State, Bazzana has batted .360 and holds the program’s career record with 220 runs scored, 251 hits, 52 doubles, 45 home runs, 180 walks and 66 stolen bases while tying for the all-time lead with a .660 slugging percentage. He also ranks in the top-10 for batting average, triples (11), runs batted in (165) and at bats (697). The Sydney, Australia native was named the sixth unanimous First-Team All-American in Oregon State’s history in 2024. He was selected as the Pac-12 Conference’s Player of the Year, the Most Outstanding Player at the Corvallis Regional as and an Academic All-America First-Teamer by the College Sports Communicators. A three-time Pac-12 Player of the Week, and NCBWA National Player of the Week for February, he batted .407 as a junior, setting the OSU single-season record for runs (84), home runs (28) and slugging percentage (.911). His 87 hits rank in the top-10, as do his 66 RBI and .407 batting average. Bazzana is the ninth Beaver taken all-time by Cleveland, and the first since Steven Kwan in 2018.
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