University of Connecticut Athletics
SMITH AND FOGELL SELECTED ON DAY THREE OF MLB DRAFT
7/11/2023 7:49:00 PM | Baseball
SEATTLE - UConn stars David Smith and Zach Fogell both heard their names called on the final day of the 2023 MLB Draft, with Smith being selected in the 14th round by the Detroit Tigers and Fogell in the 18th round by the Boston Red Sox.Â
The team captain for the 2023 campaign, Smith was an instrumental part of multiple record-breaking Huskies teams. After earning Second Team All-Big East honors in the 2022 regular season, he starred in a postseason to remember, hitting a leadoff home run at No. 15 Maryland in the College Park Regional on 6/4, silencing a rowdy Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium, and collecting an RBI double and a pair of hits at No. 2 Stanford in Game 1 of Super Regionals on 6/11. He followed this performance up by becoming an All-American in 2023, being awarded to the Second Team by the College Baseball Foundation. Rotating between center field and second base and playing strong defense wherever the team needed him, Smith became only the second player in program history to score 70 runs in a season (George Springer) and stole the second-most bases in a single season with 39. He concluded his Huskies tenure by driving in the game-tying run at No. 2 Florida in the Gainesville Regional on 6/4.Â
Fogell joined the Huskies as a graduate transfer from Brown University and made an immediate impact in Storrs. He tied the program's single-season record with 36 appearances out of the bullpen, being named First Team All-Big East and First Team ABCA All-Northeast Region thanks to his 8-0 record and team-low 1.89 ERA. He quickly grew his role and became an invaluable piece of a dominant UConn bullpen, earning the nickname "Everyday Fogell" for his willingness to take the ball at any time and in any situation. From March 22 to May 19, Fogell went 20 of 21 appearances without allowing an earned run, highlighted by a save against Seton Hall on 5/5 and 5.1 shutout innings out of the 'pen in a thrilling extra-innings win against Butler on 5/11. He continued his dominance into the postseason, firing 3.0 masterful innings vs. Georgetown to earn the win in the Big East Championship on 5/24 and holding a dangerous Texas Tech lineup down for 3.2 innings on 6/2 in the Gainesville Regional.Â
The 2023 MLB Draft concluded with three Huskies being selected after Andrew Sears was picked in the 10th round on Monday, also by Detroit. This brings the total number of players drafted or signed in the Jim Penders era to 71, with multiple other members of the program continuing to seek free agent contracts in the coming weeks.
