With his selection in today’s Major League Baseball Draft, North Carolina Central University senior pitcher Austin Vernon becomes the first Historically Black College and University (HBCU) baseball player taken in the 2021 MLB First-Year Player Draft. He was selected in the 10th round (No. 311 overall pick), by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
This past season, Vernon sported a 2.55 earned run average, 4-5 record as a starter, throwing 70.2 innings while striking out 109 batters and limited opponents to a .163 batting average this past season. His .220 batting average against in 2019 was the third-lowest in a single season at NCCU in its modern era. Vernon missed all of the COVID-19 2020 season due to injury.
Austin Vernon, at 6′-8″ and 265 lbs. possesses a fast ball that tops out at 98 mph. In his two seasons as a starter for the Eagles, Vernon has posted a 9-9 record with 182 strikeouts. He made Black College Nines’ HBCU Baseball Second-Team All-Elite team in 2021.