LA Tech pitchers Tomkins drafted by Pirates in 10th round

RUSTON – Louisiana Tech’s Landon Tomkins learned of his baseball future Monday as the Bulldog was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 10th round of the 2023 Major League Baseball draft.

The right-handed pitcher, who spent the last three seasons at LA Tech, was taken with the 287th overall pick. He served as a primary arm out of the bullpen for the most part, making 74 appearances on the mound while amassing a career 13-4 record with a 3.94 ERA.

His best season came this past spring, making a team-high 30 appearances (tied for fourth most in program history) including six starts. He posted a 6-2 overall record with a 3.52 ERA, striking out 75 batters over 76.2 innings pitched.

The Brandon, Mississippi native ranked second on the team in almost every statistical category including innings pitched, strikeouts, ERA, and victories. He ended up having 13 outings of throwing at least one inning while allowing zero runs.

Arguably his best outing came in his final appearance at J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park, getting the start in the regular season finale against UTSA and taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning. He would go 5.1 innings with just one hit and one run allowed.

Tomkins becomes the sixth Bulldog in the last three years to be drafted in the top 10 rounds and the first to be taken by the Pirates organization since Mike Jefferson in 2011.

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