LSU pitcher Christian Little taken in 19th round of MLB Draft by Mets

BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU pitcher Christian Little was selected Tuesday by the New York Mets in the 19th round (576th pick overall) of the MLB Draft.

A school-record 13 LSU players were selected in the 2023 Draft, eclipsing the previous mark of 10 drafted LSU players in 2013.

Little, a right-hander from St. Louis, Mo., pitched the 2021 and 2022 seasons at Vanderbilt before transferring to LSU for the 2023 season. He worked both as a weekend starter and as a reliever for LSU, and he pitched in five of the 12 shutouts the Tigers’ staff produced during the year.

Little made 19 appearances (eight starts) on the mound in 2023, posting a 2-2 record, two saves and 42 strikeouts in 34.2 innings. He worked a season-long 5.1 innings in a start at Ole Miss (April 23), limiting the Rebels to three runs on six hits with one walk and three strikeouts.

Little posted a save in Game 1 of the Texas A&M series (March 17), pitching 1.1 scoreless and hitless innings with no walks and one strikeout, and he picked up a save at Texas (Feb. 28), pitching a perfect ninth inning to preserve LSU’s 3-0 win.

Little is one of 13 LSU players selected in the 2023 Draft, joining pitcher Paul Skenes (No. 1 overall – Pittsburgh Pirates); centerfielder Dylan Crews (No. 2 overall – Washington Nationals), pitcher Ty Floyd (No. 38 overall – Cincinnati Reds), pitcher Grant Taylor (No. 51 overall – Chicago White Sox), first baseman/outfielder Tre’ Morgan (No. 88 overall – Tampa Bay Rays), second baseman Gavin Dugas (No. 165 overall – Washington Nationals, pitcher Garrett Edwards (No. 333 overall – Tampa Bay Rays), pitcher Blake Money (No. 361 overall – Baltimore Orioles), outfielder Brayden Jobert (No. 365 overall), pitcher Riley Cooper (No. 391 overall – Baltimore Orioles), shortstop Jordan Thompson (No. 460 overall – Los Angeles Dodgers), and pitcher Javen Coleman (No. 490 overall – Los Angeles Dodgers).