LOS ANGELES — Garrett McGowan became Pittsburg State University's ninth baseball player in school history selected in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft Tuesday (July 19). The senior first baseman was selected in the 17th round by the Houston Astros organization.

McGowan wrapped up his senior season by earning NCAA Division II All-America honors from the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America (NCBWA). He also was named to the 2022 ABCA/Rawlings Division II Gold Glove Team; and, academically, he garnered CoSIDA Academic All-America honors as well.

The Blue Springs, Mo., native batted a team-leading .399 with 61 runs scored, 20 doubles, 18 home runs and 79 RBI while starting all 52 games played for the Gorillas in 2022. He ranked fifth in Division II in RBI per game (1.52 pg). McGowan posted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage during the 2022 season, making no errors in 385 total chances.

Other Pittsburg State draftees include:  Kerry Compton (1965, 18th Round, New York Yankees), David Ross (1966, 14th Round, New York Yankees), Stephen Eagan (1967, 6th Round, Boston Red Sox), Travis Shaffer (1992, 41st Round, New York Mets), Scott Beach (1995, 42nd Round, Pittsburgh Pirates), Matt Stalcup (2013, 9th Round, Oakland Athletics) and Colton Pogue (2018, 29th Round, Washington Nationals), Alex Achtermann (2019, 30th Round, Colorado Rockies).