Senior right-hand pitcher Jack Crowder was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the ninth round of this week’s MLB Draft with the 279th overall pick. This season, Crowder helped the Illini baseball team win their first NCAA tournament game in nearly a decade, pitching five strikeouts in a 4-1 win against Indiana State. 

This season was a revelation for Crowder, as he recorded his collegiate-best marks in ERA (4.88), strikeout total (80) and wins (7). Crowder led the Illini in strikeouts, games started (16) and innings pitched (90.1) this season. Crowder’s 90.1 innings were the second-most by a Big Ten pitcher this year, with only Nebraska’s Brett Sears throwing more.

The right-hander’s season was bookended by two of the best starts of his college career. In the season opener on Feb. 16 against Akron, Crowder fired six innings of one-run ball while striking out a career-best nine batters. Crowder’s final start of the year was the NCAA tournament opener on May 31, in which he limited Indiana State to just one run over a career-high eight innings. 

Crowder is the first Illinois player to be drafted by the Orioles since 2018 when outfielder Doran Turchin was taken in the fourteenth round. 

This is the second straight year that an Illinois player was drafted with the 279th overall pick, with pitcher Riley Gowens being selected by the Atlanta Braves in the ninth round of last year’s draft. 

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