Jul. 12—The Atlanta Braves selected right-handed pitcher Ryan Cusick of Wake Forest University with the 24th overall pick in the 2021 MLB First-Year Player Draft on Sunday.
Cusick, 21, went 3-5 with a 4.24 ERA (33 ER/70.0 IP) in 12 games, all starts, for the Demon Deacons this season. He struck out 108, compiling the highest strikeout per nine innings (13.89) mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference and the 10th best in the nation in 2021. He was an All-ACC Second Team selection and fanned double digits in six of his 12 starts.
Cusick, who bats and throws right-handed, was a three-year contributor for Wake Forest and struck out 206 batters in 158.0 career innings. His SO/9 ratio of 11.73 is the third highest in school history, and he went 7-5 with a 5.63 ERA (55 ER/88.0 IP) in 23 career games, including 16 starts.
A native of Sudbury, Mass., the 6-foot-6, 235-pound righty entered the drafted ranked by MLB.com as the No. 26 overall prospect and the 11th-best pitcher.
The Braves have taken a Wake Forest pitcher with each of their last two first-round picks, after selecting LHP Jared Shuster last season. The club has also taken a collegiate player with each of their last four first-round picks (Shuster in 2020, C Shea Langeliers in 2019, INF Braden Shewmake in 2019). Cusick, though, is the first collegiate right-hander chosen by Atlanta in the first round since the club took Kyle Wright with the fifth overall pick out of Vanderbilt University in 2017. The Braves now have selected pitchers with their first selection in five of the last six drafts.
The Braves’ next pick is in the second round at No. 59 overall.