Pair of Coastal Carolina pitchers taken on 2nd day of MLB Draft

CONWAY, S.C. – Coastal Carolina right-handed pitcher Michael Knorr was selected by the Houston Astros in the third round (103rd overall pick) of the 2022 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft on Monday, July 18.

In his lone season at Coastal, Knorr made an immediate impact on the mound for the Chanticleers. Over 13 starts, he went 5-0 with a 3.39 ERA and struck out 86 batters over 69.0 innings pitched.

Knorr led the Chants’ pitching staff in ERA (3.39), fewest walks allowed (13), fewest hits allowed (60), and opposing batting average (.228). He also led the team in fewest runs allowed (31), fewest earned runs allowed (26), and in strikeouts (86).

He led the Sun Belt and ranked 17th nationally with a 6.62 strikeout-to-walk ratio on the season, while his 1.06 WHIP ranked second in the Sun Belt and 40th in all of NCAA Division I last year, and his 11.22 strikeouts per nine innings average also ranked second in the conference and 64th nationally. He also ranked third in the Sun Belt in both walks allowed per nine innings (1.70) and total strikeouts (86).

Knorr’s 1.70 walks allowed per nine innings average in 2022 is the eighth-best in CCU’s single-season history, while his strikeouts per nine innings average of 11.22 ranks ninth.

With his selection, Knorr becomes the 105th Coastal Carolina MLB draft pick and the 84th Chanticleer to be selected in the annual first-year player draft under head coach Gary Gilmore.

Coastal Carolina left-handed pitcher Reid VanScoter was chosen by the Seattle Mariners in the fifth round (156th overall pick) of the 2022 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft on Monday, July 18.

A 2022 Collegiate Baseball second-team All-American and the first Chanticleer to be named the Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Year, VanScoter was also named to the All-Sun Belt first team and earned a spot on the ABCA/Rawlings Atlantic All-Region first team last season.

VanScoter went 9-4 with a 3.65 ERA on the season, firing 88.2 innings of work over 16 starts. He led the Sun Belt and ranked in the top-25 nationally in wins and was sixth in the Sun Belt in ERA on the season. He was fourth in the Sun Belt in innings pitched, seventh in strikeouts with 85, and tied for second in the league with 25 strikeouts looking.

In conference play, VanScoter went 7-1 overall with a 2.91 ERA, with his only loss in Sun Belt Conference play coming at home to Georgia State, in which the Chants’ defense made five errors and allowed seven unearned runs. The recent graduate pitched 5.0 innings or more in nine of his 10 starts in SBC play, struck out 56 batters compared to just 14 walks over 58.2 innings pitched in conference play, and held CCU’s SBC opponents to a .228 batting average.

In his two years on the mound at Coastal, as he sat out the abbreviated 2020 season while recovering from an injury, VanScoter went 11-5 overall with a 3.90 ERA. He made 28 appearances on the mound for the Chants, including 20 starts, and struck out 109 hitters over 120 innings pitched. He held opponents to a .260 batting average over his CCU career and walked just 31 batters overall.

VanScoter’s career average of 2.33 walks per nine innings ranks fourth all-time in CCU’s career record books.

With his selection, VanScoter becomes the 106th Coastal Carolina MLB draft pick and the 85th Chanticleer to be selected in the annual first-year player draft under head coach Gary Gilmore.