Over 600 collegiate and amateur players heard their names called during the 2024 MLB Draft, which took place from July 14-16.

Among the players selected were prospects with ties to Lexington County, some coming from local high schools and others as former pre-professional Lexington County Blowfish members.

Four former Blowfish players were taken in this year’s draft, which was half the number that were selected last year. But two of these players – Cole Mathis and Billy Amick – made history in the process.

Mathis is a three-year veteran of the College of Charleston’s baseball program where he played as an infielder and pitcher. He finished his career with a .327 batting average, 24 home runs and 112 RBIs at the plate, in addition to a 7-3 record, 3.60 earned run average and 91 strikeouts across 100 innings pitched on the mound.

Mathis is projected to play third base with minor league affiliates of the Chicago Cubs, who took him with the No. 54 overall pick in the second round.

Amick was selected six picks later (No. 60 overall) by the Minnesota Twins. He recently completed his junior season at Tennessee, where he played an important role in the team’s championship triumph in the 2024 College World Series.

Amick, who played two seasons with Clemson before transferring to the Volunteers’ baseball program, hit .338, launched 36 home runs, drove in 128 runs and amassed a 1.073 OPS across 120 collegiate games.

Mathis and Amick, both alumni of the Blowfish’s 2022 roster, became the highest-ever draft selections in the organization’s history after being taken in the second round. The previous highest-drafted player was Wil Crowe, a former South Carolina pitcher who went No. 65 overall in the 2017 MLB Draft. Crowe now plays for the Kia Tigers in the Korean Baseball Organization after spending time with the Washington Nationals in 2020 and the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2021 to 2023.

Two more Blowfish players – Lebarron Johnson Jr. and Trey Pooser, veterans of the team’s 2021 and 2022 rosters, respectively – were selected on the second day of the MLB Draft, which included rounds three through 10.

Johnson Jr., a redshirt junior pitcher from Texas, was taken by the Colorado Rockies with the 139th overall selection in the fifth round. Johnson Jr. did not appear in a game for the Longhorns during his freshman season but pitched his way to a 4.04 ERA and 11-9 record while striking out 203 batters across 176 innings pitched. He had a rate of 10.4 punchouts per nine innings over the course of his college career.

Pooser was selected No. 306 overall in the tenth round by the Tampa Bay Rays and left the collegiate ranks having pitched for the College of Charleston and Kentucky, where he enrolled as a graduate student, for five total seasons.

The Hanahan, S.C. native amassed a 24-9 record, 3.80 ERA and 261 strikeouts across 310 innings pitched in 69 total appearances. During his lone campaign with the Wildcats in 2024, he also got the opportunity to pitch in the College World Series where he started a game, pitched 6.2 innings while allowing three runs in Kentucky’s 5-4 win over NC State on June 15.

Former Blowfish players were not the only players with connections to Lexington County who were drafted, though. This year’s MLB Draft featured multiple players who played high school baseball in the county, including one who eventually played for an in-state college.

The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Will Taylor, an Irmo native and Dutch Fork High School alumnus, with their fifth-round pick, No. 109 overall. Taylor, a junior outfielder at Clemson, logged a .313 batting average, 13 home runs and 69 RBIs over 107 games in three seasons.

He spent his freshman and sophomore years as a wide receiver on the Tigers’ football team, where he appeared in 15 games and caught seven passes for 22 yards and one touchdown.

An additional two players who attended the Lexington-based P27 Academy were drafted straight out of high school in the event’s later rounds.

Outfielder Ethan Wagner was selected by the Houston Astros with the No. 523 overall pick in the 17th round. Shortstop Brendan Lawson, who was listed as the No. 156 prospect heading into the draft, according to MLB.com, was taken No. 561 overall by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 19th round.

These prospects will begin their minor league journeys this season with hopes of one day making it to the majors.