Caron Selected in Fourth Round of MLB Draft by Seattle Mariners
Nebraska junior catcher Josh Caron was selected in the fourth round of the Major League Baseball Draft by the Seattle Mariners on Monday afternoon. Caron, who became the seventh fourth-round selection in NU history, was the No. 121 pick overall in the draft, which is being held in Fort Worth, Texas.
With the fourth-round selection, Caron becomes the highest overall selection of a Husker catcher since 1985, when Bill McGuire was chosen No. 27 overall by the Seattle Mariners.
Caron, a product of Sun, Prairie, Wis., is the 10th Husker to be selected by the Seattle Mariners in the draft. The NU junior was a Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award semifinalist and was named Most Outstanding Player of the Big Ten Tournament.
The junior was one of two catchers nationally to hit at least .300 at the plate with 15-plus homers and 65 runs driven in this season after hitting .308 with 15 doubles, a triple, 16 home runs, 65 RBI and 46 runs for the Huskers in 2024.
Caron launched six home runs across the Big Ten Tournament, which passed Purdue’s Dan Black (5) in 2008 for the most home runs in a single Big Ten Tournament. Caron’s 28 total bases also set a new tournament record, surpassing Ohio State’s Steve Carvati’s 26 total bases in 2005.
Excluding the shortened draft in 2020 due to COVID-19, Nebraska has had at least one draft selection in 30 of the last 31 drafts since 1992.
SEARS TAKEN IN SEVENTH ROUND OF MLB DRAFT BY ATLANTA BRAVES
Nebraska senior Brett Sears was selected in the seventh round of the Major League Baseball Draft by the Atlanta Braves on Monday afternoon. Sears, who became the fourth seventh-round selection in NU history, was the No. 221 pick overall in the draft.
Sears becomes the fifth Husker pitcher under head coach Will Bolt to be drafted in the first 10 rounds, joining Spencer Schwellenbach (2nd, 2021), Cade Povich (3rd, 2021), Emmett Olson (4th, 2023) and Jace Kaminska (10th, 2023).
The senior is the sixth Husker to be selected by the Braves in the draft after earning unanimous Second-Team All-American recognition from D1Baseball, Baseball America, ABCA/Rawlings, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Perfect Game last month.
The Westphalia, Iowa, native was named a second-team Academic All-American by College Sports Communicators earlier this month, becoming the first NU baseball player to be an Academic All-American since 2016, and the first Husker to be an All-American and Academic All-American in the same season since Aaron Marsden in 2003.
Prior to the All-American accolades, Sears was a first-team all-region honoree and named District 6 Player of the Year.
A semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy and National Pitcher of the Year, Sears was the Big Ten’s Pitcher of the Year and a First-Team All-Big Ten selection while posting a 9-1 record with a 2.16 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 104 innings.
Sears ranked among the national leaders throughout the season, finishing the year ranked fourth with a 0.88 WHIP, fifth in ERA (2.16), 19th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.32), 20th in hits allowed/9 inn. (6.23) and 24th in walks allowed/9 inn. (1.64).
After Nebraska’s win against Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament, the senior became the first NU pitcher since at least 1999 to reach a 9-0 record on the mound.
Sears is the first Husker hurler with 100-plus strikeouts in a season since 2008 after compiling 101 punchouts, which is ninth-most in program history. Sears also completed the season tied for eighth in program history with 104 innings pitched in 2024.
