LOS ANGELES – Georgia Tech baseball’s Kevin Parada (Pasadena, Calif./Loyola) was the 11th player selected in the 2022 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Sunday night when the New York Mets tabbed the sophomore catcher with the No. 11 overall pick.
Parada joins an illustrious group of Yellow Jackets in becoming the 12th first-round pick in school history and is the ninth under head coach Danny Hall. He joins Joey Bart (2nd), Jed Bradley (15th) Deck McGuire (11th), Matt Wieters (5th), Tyler Greene (30th), Mark Teixeira (5th), Nomar Garciaparra (12th), Jason Varitek (21st, 14th), Ty Griffin (9th) and Kevin Brown (4th) in first-rounders from The Flats. Overall at Georgia Tech, he is the 42nd Yellow Jacket ever selected in the first round across all major North American professional sports – MLB, NFL, NBA, WNBA and NPF (National Pro Fastpitch Softball).
Parada was a unanimous first-team all-American by major media outlets after his fantastic sophomore season in 2022 where he earned the Buster Posey Award and Johnny Bench Award for nation’s top collegiate catcher and was a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award (top amateur player in the nation) and Dick Howser Trophy (college baseball player of the year).
A first-team all-ACC and all-region selection and the NCBWA District 4 Player of the Year, the Pasadena, Calif. native ranked among the nation’s best all year, finishing the regular season ranking sixth with a school-record 26 home runs, second in total bases (174), third in RBI (85), fifth in runs (74) and 35th in hits (85). In the Atlantic Coast Conference, Parada led in runs and RBI, ranked third in home runs, fourth in hits and was the fourth-toughest hitter to strikeout in the league.
Parada started all 60 of Georgia Tech’s games in 2022, playing an impressive 55 of them behind the dish, where he posted a .992 fielding percentage and threw out 12 would-be base thieves.
Over his two years on The Flats, played in 112 games with 111 starts. He hit a gaudy .341 for his career with a total of 163 base hits, 35 home runs and 30 doubles. He also drove 130 runs and scored 121, while posting a .636 slugging percentage and .420 on-base percentage.
Parada’s selection marks the 42nd-straight season in which a Georgia Tech student-athlete has been taken in the MLB Draft, a streak that began in 1981 with the selection of first baseman Tommy Thompson by the Kansas City Royals.
Around Social Media
𝘿𝙍𝘼𝙁𝙏𝙀𝘿!@parada_kevin_ is the 11th selection of the 2022 @MLBDraft by the @Mets#WreckHavoc // #MLBDraft pic.twitter.com/4IG9gsJxBA
— Georgia Tech Baseball (@GTBaseball) July 18, 2022
The moment every player dreams of…
📺 @MLBNetwork pic.twitter.com/DYhtlEY3U5
— Georgia Tech Baseball (@GTBaseball) July 18, 2022
Atlanta to the Big Apple! 🍎
The @Mets got a stud in Kevin Parada! #ACCBASE@parada_kevin_ | @GTBaseball pic.twitter.com/XvPXKpPrnN
— ACC Baseball (@ACCBaseball) July 18, 2022
Mets take Kevin Parada of @GTBaseball throwback to that time this season where he hit 5 bombs in a week
— Stephen Schoch (@bigdonkey47) July 18, 2022
🎥🎥🎥@parada_kevin_ | #MLBDraft pic.twitter.com/Lulx9D7F0K
— Georgia Tech Baseball (@GTBaseball) July 18, 2022
The Yellow Jackets have landed in California!@parada_kevin_ | #MLBDraft pic.twitter.com/4NwoPjNZKL
— Georgia Tech Baseball (@GTBaseball) July 17, 2022
. @Mets fans and @parada_kevin_ are VERYS HAPPY pic.twitter.com/3T7JHMeMrC
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) July 18, 2022
Welcome to the Big Apple, Kevin! 🍎
With the 11th pick in the #MLBDraft, we have selected C Kevin Parada from Georgia Tech. pic.twitter.com/bIT5WlKQgO
— New York Mets (@Mets) July 18, 2022
"The @Mets picked me…I can't be more excited right now."@parada_kevin_ is at a loss for words after being selected 11th overall.#LGM | #MLBDraft | @MLBDraft | @LGRed | @GTBaseball pic.twitter.com/d3DpsD3Ces
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) July 18, 2022
"These pinstripes look 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 cool."
The #11 Overall Pick Kevin Parada (@parada_kevin_), blown away by hearing the @Mets call his name: pic.twitter.com/LRhZkUf8wE
— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) July 18, 2022
#CatcherU 🤝 Gotham
Congratulations, @parada_kevin_! #MLBDraft#ProJackets#WreckHavoc#TogetherWeSwarm https://t.co/CTTzTPEBVw
— Todd Stansbury (@GTToddStansbury) July 18, 2022
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
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