MSU catcher Bryan Broecker picked by Rays in 13th round; Hillsdale player makes history

Make it three for Michigan State.

Michigan State catcher Bryan Broecker was selected in the 13th round (393rd overall) of the Major League Baseball Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday.

Broecker, 21, a Chicago native, was second on the Spartans' in OPS this season, at .965, and had eight home runs and 36 RBIs.

Broecker joins Michigan State teammates Mitch Jebb (shortstop, second round, Pittsburgh Pirates) and Bryce Vradenburg (first baseman, third round, Miami Marlins) in being drafted in 2023.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Broecker played two seasons at Michigan, after redshirting his first year. In 2022, he made the Big Ten's all-freshman team. He was prolific at throwing out would-be base-stealers during his Spartans career.

This marks Michigan State has had three players taken in the first 13 rounds since 2016. It's the first time it’s had three players taken in a single draft since 2019.

MSU has had 38 players drafted in head coach Jake Boss' 15-year tenure.

Eastern Michigan right-handed pitcher Luke Russo, 22, went later Tuesday, when he was taken in the 16th round (493rd overall) by the Philadelphia Phillies. Russo, a native of Howell, had 107 strikeouts this past season, third-most in program history and tops in the Mid-American Conference in 2023. Opponents batted .223 against Russo this season, his third with the Eagles.

The next round, the 17th, Hillsdale College right-hander Zane Barnhart was selected by the Baltimore Orioles, 511th overall. Barnhart, 21, of Ohio, became Hillsdale's closer as a sophomore, and this past season, as a junior, he posted a 2.06 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 43.2 innings, to go with six saves.

Barnhart is the highest-drafted player ever from Hillsdale College, and the fourth Hillsdale player ever taken in the MLB Draft.

The three-day MLB Draft wrapped up Tuesday, with the 11th through 20th rounds.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @tonypaul1984