Broughton drafted in 25th round by Kansas City Royals

Published 11:57 am Friday, June 7, 2019

VALDOSTA –– Valdosta State senior Josh Broughton was drafted in the 25th round Wednesday by the Kansas City Royals. He was the 739th player overall taken in the 2019 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. He marks the fifth player from the Gulf South Conference drafted thus far.

Broughton became the first Blazer drafted since Hayden Jones was drafted in the 29th round by the Colorado Rockies in 2015. Broughton is the sixth Blazer to be drafted since 2009, joining Jones (2015), Dom Demasi (2014), Brandon Decker (2010), while Brandon Graves and Matt Costello were selected in 2009.

The Callahan, Fla., native, had an outstanding senior campaign for the Blazers as he transferred to VSU this year from Elon College. Broughton earned National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Honorable Mention All-America honors, while earning first team all-region honors from NCBWA and second team all-region honors from the D2 Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA). He also earned Rawlings/American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-Region honors.

Broughton helped lead VSU to a 32-23 record and a berth in the NCAA Division II South Region I championship as the Blazers lost to Delta State 9-6 in the final game of the season. VSU also reached the Gulf South Conference Championship Tuesday this season for the first time since 2013.

For the season, Broughton earned first team all-conference honors at third base as he hit .357 in 55 starts at the hot corner. Broughton is just one of three Blazers to start all 55 games this season. He led the team with 79 hits, while scoring 49 runs for second on the team. Broughton tallied a team-high 14 doubles with a team-best four triples and recorded a team-high five home runs, while driving in a team-best 57. He slugged a team-high .525 and reached base at a .414 clip, while going 13 of 16 in stolen bases. He also saw action in nine games on the bump with two saves and went 2-0 with a 3.86 ERA. He pitched 9.1 innings, allowing six hits, four earned runs, walked six and fanned four.

As of June 4, 2019, Broughton ranks 26th nationally in hits (79) for second in the GSC, while ranking fourth in the league in runs (49) and 44th nationally and third in the league in RBI (57). He is fifth in the GSC in total bases (116) and his four triples ranks second in the conference.

West Alabama’s Cole Waites went in the 18th round to the San Francisco Giants, while Mississippi College’s Blaine Crim went in the 19th round to the Texas Rangers, as did Montevallo’s Tyler Krabbe to the Houston Astros. West Georgia’s Cade Marlowe went in the 20th round to the Seattle Mariners.