Murray State is no stranger to having players drafted to the professional level and baseball is no different. Right-handed starting pitcher Cade Vernon and shortstop Drew Vogel are the most recent Racers to be drafted to the major leagues.
Vernon was selected in the 10th round by the San Francisco Giants with the 298th pick following a season where he earned All-MVC Second Team honors. Vernon led the conference in wins with nine in 15 starts as the Racers’ ace. He also had the second-most strikeouts in the MVC with 83. Vernon pitched 90.2 innings and posted a 4.67 ERA, which was ninth-best in the conference.
“The San Francisco Giants called me… [The Giants] gave me the offer and I said yes, almost instantly,” Vernon said, as he recounted the career-altering phone call.
Vogel was selected with the 463rd pick in the 15th round by the Houston Astros. Vogel was named All-MVC First Team after slashing .336/.441/.657 in 2024. He was among the top five in the MVC in on-base percentage (.441), total bases (153), hits (77), runs scored (62), RBI (61) and home runs (20). His 20 home runs were two shy of the single-season mark at Murray State set by Wes Cunningham in 2010.
On the final day of the draft, an anxious Vogel received a message.
“My adviser texted me and said the Astros want to take you in the 15th round,” he said. “I think we should take it. And I was like, all right, I’m in, let’s do it.”
Vernon and Vogel were two of 11 players from the Missouri Valley selected in this year’s first-year player draft. The Valley has had at least 10 picks in all but three drafts since 1980.
Murray State has had 32 players drafted to the MLB since 1965, with 15 of those picks being pitchers. Ten of those players are in the Murray State Hall of Fame.
Vernon and Vogel become the first Racers selected in the MLB Draft since right-handed pitcher Derrick Watson was selected by the Colorado Rockies in 2017.
They are also the first pair of Racers selected since 1994, which saw righthander Marcus Logan taken in the 18th round by the St. Louis Cardinals and first baseman Matt Culp went in the 42nd round to the Cleveland Indians.
