History was made after second baseman Travis Bazzana became the first Australian to be selected first overall in the Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft.
Bazzana, 21, has played for Team Australia at the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup 2019 and the WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup 2022, in addition to playing for Oregon State over the past three years.
The Cleveland Guardians, who have the best record in American League before the All-Star Game, used their selection to draft Bazzana, who in addition to being the first Australian to be picked in the first two rounds of a draft completely, is the first second baseman to ever be the first pick.
Speaking to MLB Network, Bazzana said: “It means alot. It is hard to put into words but it means everything. I’m just stoked andI’m really happy to be with the people I’m with right now.
“I see a lot of opportunities to make an impact ona lot of baseball players and people back home and hopefully change thenarrative for baseball. But just giving belief to players back home that theycan do great things in the US and pursue a Major League dream and hopefullythis is a step towards that.
"The premise ofeverything I want to achieve is I want to make Australia a powerhouse inbaseball. It's not going to come from me, but I want to start that trend."
Bazzana has already confirmed he is hoping to represent Australia in the WBSC Premier12 later this year, if selected, where Australia features in the opening Group B game on 13 November in Nagoya against hosts Japan.
Meanwhile, 17 USA Baseball alumni were picked in the draft. Nick Kurtz, who participated in the 2015 WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup, Konnor Griffin and Bryce Rainer who wore USA's uniform in the 2023 WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup, along with two-time (2022 & 2023) WBSC U-18 BWC veteran PJ Morlando, are the alumni who highlight in the group.
In addition to Bazzana’sselection, Jurrangelo Cijntje, born in the Netherlands and raised in Curacao,was selected 15th in the first round by the Seattle Mariners and atotal of 10 players born outside of the USA, Canada and Puerto Rico wereselected.
