The Big 12 Newcomer and Pitcher of the Year is the first Horned Frog off the board.
Sunday marked the beginning of the 2024 MLB Draft and TCU had its first athlete selected late in the evening, with the Boston Red Sox taking left-handed pitcher Payton Tolle in the second round with the 50th overall selection. Tolle is coming off a stellar season at TCU, where the big left-hander went 7-4 and recorded a 3.21 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP with 125 strikeouts and 37 walks over 81.1 innings pitched. The former Wichita State star started 14 games with the Horned Frogs during the 2024 campaign, holding opposing batters to a .198 average. Tolle was named the Big 12 Pitcher and Newcomer of the Year this spring.
With the 50th pick in the 2024 Draft, the @RedSox select @TCU_Baseball left-handed pitcher Payton Tolle, No. 87 on the Top 250 Draft Prospects list.
Watch LIVE: https://t.co/eLMJAXDe7Z pic.twitter.com/U465i5guco
— MLB Draft (@MLBDraft) July 15, 2024
Tolle is the first Horned Frog to be selected in the 2024 MLB Draft. TCU saw seven athletes taken last year including first-rounder Brayden Taylor (Tampa Bay Rays). Before transferring to TCU, Tolle started his collegiate career at Wichita State, where he was an All-AAC First Team honoree and an All-American during the 2023 season. Tolle concluded his lone season in Fort Worth as an All-American as well as an All-Big 12 First Team honoree. The Yukon, Oklahoma native concluded his collegiate career with a 4.09 ERA and a 20-13 record as well as 271 strikeouts and 78 walks over 42 appearances and 233.1 innings pitched.