LA Dodgers select Oregon State football star D.J. Uiagalelei in the MLB Draft

Oregon State quarterback and Clemson transfer D.J Uiagalelei was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 20th round of the MLB draft.

The selection was a surprising one since Uiagalelei has not played baseball since he was still in high school and had not made the decision to focus his attention on football.

Back when he was a two-sport athlete at St. John Bosco in Bellflower, California the six-foot-five right hander wielded a fastball that topped out at a high speed of 96 mph.

After enrolling at Clemson in 2020 he went onto start during the 2021 and 2022 seasons before transferring to Oregon after Cade Klubnik in the ACC Championship Game and struggling throughout his second season as the Tigers’ lead signal caller.

The Inland Empire, CA native finished the season with 2,521 yards, 22 touchdowns, and seven touchdowns.

He hasn’t played baseball since high school and was Clemson’s starter before transferring 

Uiagalelei joins a group of NFL players drafted into MLB after not playing baseball in college, including Tom Brady (left) and Colin Kaepernick (right)

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Although not stellar numbers they were still an improvement over the ones recorded during his first season as a starter when Uiagalelei posted stats of 2,246 yards, nine TDs, and 10 ints.

Uiagalelei had told The Athletic back in April that the Dodgers had reached out to him before officially transferring to Oregon State, but he told the team he was not interested.

This clearly however did not stop LA from using a late-round flier in order to obtain the MLB rights for the Beavers’ presumed starting QB, should he ever choose to hang up his shoulder pads and step back onto the pitcher’s mound.

Although he does not seem set to make a return to the diamond this season, he would need to sign a contract with the Dodgers this summer in order for them to retains those rights or see their low-risk draft selection go to waste.

In regard to the team Uiagalelei is planning to suit up for this season, he will have to beat out incumbent starting QB Ben Gulbranson, who went 7-1 with the Beavers last season in order to win the job.

Uiagalelei will join a select club of football players that have been drafted in by MLB teams without having played baseball in college that includes names like Tom Brady, Dante Culpepper and Colin Kaepernick.

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