Former Blinn College baseball players Bryce Miller and Jackson Leath recently were selected in the 2021 Major League Baseball Draft.
Miller pitched for Blinn in 2018 and was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the fourth round with the 113th overall pick out of Texas A&M University. Leath pitched for Blinn in 2018 and 2019 and was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 12th round with the 344th overall pick out of the University of Tennessee.
“I couldn’t be prouder to have had these two young men in our program and I am very excited for both of them,” head coach Harvey McIntyre said. “In a shortened draft, MLB teams have to make each draft choice count and they definitely did with Jackson and Bryce. They are both tremendous young men, workers, teammates, and exceptionally talented players.”
Miller, a right-hander, made 20 appearances on the mound and posted a 7-1 record as a freshman at Blinn. He picked up five saves and 34 strikeouts in 28 2/3 innings and was selected in the 38th round by the Miami Marlins in the 2018 MLB Draft out of Blinn. He transferred to Texas A&M, where he spent the last three seasons. In his three-year career with the Aggies, Miller pitched in 54 games, including 10 starts, and posted an 8-6 record. He posted a 4.07 earned run average and 141 strikeouts in 110.2 innings of work. He finished the 2021 season with Texas A&M with a 3-2 record and 4.45 ERA in 13 appearances and 10 starts.
“I am extremely excited, and I have put a lot of hard work and time into baseball, so it is good to see it finally pay off,” Miller said. “Going to Blinn and through junior college is the best decision I could have made. It obviously was launching pad to A&M and now I am excited to compete against the best players in the world and see where I stack up.”
In two years at Blinn, Leath made 21 appearances and posted a 7-2 record. As a sophomore, the right-hander posted a 2.93 ERA while striking out 61 in 61 1/3 innings. He transferred to Tennessee where he spent the last two years. In 2020, he posted a 4-0 record with a 1.45 ERA while striking out 29 in 18 2/3 innings. He threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings before suffering a season-ending injury during the second week of the 2021 season.
“Ever since I was a kid my dream was to be a professional baseball player. To be selected by my hometown team is really exciting,” Leath said. “A junior college was a great place to go after high school because you get game reps almost immediately and I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wouldn’t have been for Blinn. Now that I have graduated from college, I am excited to focus on just the baseball aspect of things and putting all my effort into it.”
Over the past 19 seasons, McIntyre has coached 46 players who have been drafted into professional baseball.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 42 NJCAA national championships since 1987. For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.
About the Blinn College District
With innovative programs and award-winning co-enrollment partnerships, Blinn’s academic transfer rate ranks No. 1 among Texas community colleges. Courses are available online and at five Central Texas campuses, and students save 43% in tuition and fees compared to the average state university. For more information, visit www.blinn.edu.
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