Irving, TX – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) baseball team saw four players selected in the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft Wednesday. The APSU Govs’ 2024 draft class is the first with four players selected in the first 20 rounds.
Shortstop Jon Jon Gazdar, the first Governor drafted this year, and relief pitcher Titan Kennedy-Hayes each went in the 11th round. Two-way player Lyle Miller-Green followed later in the day and was picked in the 17th round, followed quickly by relief pitcher Tyler Hampu who went in the 18th round.
Gazdar, selected with the 321st overall pick by the St. Louis Cardinals, became the APSU Govs earliest draft pick since 2013 when current San Francisco Giants reliever Tyler Rogers and Govs second baseman Jordan Hankins were selected with the 312th and 318th picks, respectively.
Gazdar, a Walnut Creek, California product, was a First Team Academic All-American, the ASUN’s Defensive Player of the Year, and a First Team All-ASUN pick. He finished the season batting .405 with 21 doubles, 55 RBI, and 67 runs scored.
Gazdar pieced together a 40-game reached safely streak that was the fifth streak of 40-plus games in program history. He accomplished that feat while remaining one of the nation’s toughest batters to strike out for a second consecutive year, averaging a strikeout every 16.9 at-bats (5th via NCAA) or in 5.0 percent of all plate appearances (5th via D1Baseball.com).
Kennedy-Hayes followed soon after and was taken with the 342nd overall pick by the Philadelphia Phillies. The Enid, Oklahoma product appeared in 15 games last season and posted a 1-1 record while compiling a 3.48 ERA and striking out 22 batters in 20.2 innings pitched. Kennedy-Hayes finished the season ranked third in the ASUN and 56th nationally in saves.
Miller-Green’s incredible 2024 campaign saw him earn All-America recognition from each of the six organizations that publish an All-America list. He rewrote the record books in 2024, setting Austin Peay State University’s single-season records for home runs (30), RBI (94), and runs scored (94) while batting .393 and setting program records with a .900 slugging percentage and .533 on-base percentage.
He also set the ASUN single-season records for home runs, runs scored, and slugging percentage. The Burke, Virginia native, also was a First-Team Academic All-American and the Atlantic Sun Conference’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year after earning his bachelor’s degree in general studies in December with a 3.61 GPA and posted a 4.00 GPA during his first semester of graduate school.
Hampu, a Berea, Ohio native, made 24 appearances for the Governors in 2024 and led all APSU relievers with 45 strikeouts in 29.0 innings pitched. He recorded two wins and two saves out of the bullpen. In two seasons at Austin Peay State University, he finished with 75 strikeouts in 55.0 innings pitched over 47 appearances – all in relief.
Gazdar becomes the second Governor drafted by the Cardinals, joining alumnus Keith Gilliam, who was a 1981 draft selection by the Cardinals and ultimately returned to Clarksville for his senior season. Philadelphia drafted its second Governor all-time after drafting pitcher Lee Ridenhour in 2013.
Miller-Green is the second Governor drafted by the White Sox, joining pitcher Zach Toney from the 2012 draft. Hampu joins alumnus and six-year MLB veteran Matt Reynolds (2007) as a Colorado Rockies draftee.
