LSU Pitchers Zac Cowan, Santiago Garcia, Gavin Guidry, Connor Benge, 5 Signees Taken Late In MLB Draft

By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson saw five members of his 2027 high school signing class taken after the 10th round in the 20-round Major League Baseball Draft that ended on Sunday after only three Tiger signees going in the first four rounds on Saturday.

And that means Johnson has an excellent chance of keeping most of his 22-member class.

Six signees were taken Sunday – right-handed pitcher Dylan Blomker of La Cueva High in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the fifth round as the No. 159 overall pick to the Chicago Cubs, left-hander Spencer Evans of TNXL Academy in Ocoee, Florida, in the 11th round with the 318th pick by Pittsburgh, first baseman Will Adams of Hoover High in Hoover, Alabama, in the 11th round with the 336th pick by Detroit, outfielder Anthony Murphy of Corona High in Corona, California, in the 16th round as the 466th pick by the Washington Nationals, outfielder Malachi Washington of Parkview High in Stone Mountain, Georgia, in the 18th round as the 528th pick to Pittsburgh and outfielder Dominic Santarelli of St. Joseph Academy in the 18th round as the 550th selection to Seattle.

Only Blomker has a slot value to contend with at $441,300. Players taken after the 10th round have zero slot values.

Three LSU signees were selected on Saturday – left-handed pitcher Logan Schmidt of Ganesha High in Alisa Viejo, California, in the second round at No. 59 by Cleveland with a $1.6 million selection slot value, right-handed pitcher Jensen Hirschkorn of Kingsburg High in Kingsburg, California, in the third round at pick No. 84 to Atlanta with a $973,700 slot value and outfielder Wesley Roberson of Glynn Academy in Brunswick, Georgia, by Miami in the fourth round as the 115th pick with a $677,500 slot value.

With the 573rd pick in the 2026 MLB Draft, we have selected RHP Zac Cowan from Louisiana State University.#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/NxNV2OLsRW

— GuardsInsider (@GuardsInsider) July 12, 2026

Two LSU players from the 2026 team drafted Sunday were among the Tigers’ best pitchers in recent seasons in senior right-hander Zac Cowan, who was key in the Tigers’ 2025 national championship team, and redshirt junior right-hander Gavin Guidry, who was the LSU’s top reliever in 2023 and ’24.

Cowan went in the 19th round Sunday as the 573rd pick to Cleveland, and Guidry went in the 16th round as the No. 480th selection to the New York Mets.

Other LSU pitchers who got drafted Sunday were junior transfer left-hander Santiago Garcia, who went in the 12th round as the 372nd selecton to Toronto, and senior right-hander Connor Benge as the 385th pick of the draft in the 13th round to the Miami Marlins.

In the 2025 season, Cowan was 3-3 with a 5.32 ERA and six saves, including five in SEC play. He struck out 60 in 52 innings through 22 appearances. He was 3-3 with a 5.32 ERA in 2026 with one save and 54 strikeouts in 44 innings. Guidry was 5-3 with a 6.79 ERA and one save with 59 strikeouts in 43 and two-thirds innings. Guidry was 3-0 with a 3.77 ERA and three saves as a freshman in 2022 and 2-0 with a 2.59 ERA and three saves in the Tigers’ 2023 national title season. He missed all of 2024 with an injury.

Garcia was 1-1 with a 5.96 ERA in 2026 with 35 strikeouts in 22 and two-thirds innings in 2026, while Benge was 2-0 with a 9.00 ERA in only seven innings through 16 appearances with 13 strikeouts.

LSU PLAYERS DRAFTED – 8

OF Derek Curiel, 1st Round, Pick 5 … Pittsburgh Pirates

OF Jake Brown, 2nd Round, Pick 65 … Seattle Mariners

RHP Deven Sheerin, 4th Round, Pick 128 … Philadelphia Phillies

RHP Grant Fontenot, 10th Round, Pick 299 … Kansas City Royals

LHP Santiago Garcia, 12th Round, Pick 372 … Toronto Blue Jays

RHP Connor Benge, 13th Round, Pick 385 … Miami Marlins

RHP Gavin Guidry, 16th Round, Pick 480 … New York Mets

RHP Zac Cowan, 19th Round, Pick 573 … Cleveland Guardians

LSU SIGNEES DRAFTED – 9

LHP Logan Schmidt, 2nd Round, Pick 59 … Cleveland Guardians

RHP Jensen Hirschkorn, 3rd Round, Pick 84 … Atlanta Braves

OF Wessley Roberson, 4th Round, Pick 115 … Miami Marlins

RHP Dylan Blomker, 5th Round, Pick 159 … Chicago Cubs

LHP Spencer Evans, 11th Round, Pick 318 … Pittsburgh Pirates

1B Will Adams, 11th Round, Pick 336 … Detroit Tigers

OF Anthony Murphy, 16th Round, Pick 466 … Washington Nationals

OF Malachi Washington, 18th Round, Pick 528 … Pittsburgh Pirates

OF Dominic Santarelli, 18th Round, Pick 550 … Seattle Mariners