DENVER, Colo.- Three rounds after watching his teammate Carlos Rodriguez drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers, Florida SouthWestern State lefthander Alex Ayala heard his name called in the 2021 Major League Baseball Draft, as the 2020 American League Champion Tampa Bay Rays picked the Bucs ace in the 9th round, 281st overall to make FSW one of just two NJCAA programs with two picks on the second day of the draft.
Ayala was the 2021 Suncoast Conference Pitcher of the Year, going 8-3 in 13 starts this season, throwing 63 2/3 innings and notching a 3.53 ERA. He struck out a team best 84 hitters on the year and held the opposition to a .190 batting average. He allowed five or less hits in 12 of his 13 starts on the season and allowed 1 or 0 earned runs in eight of those starts.
Ayala becomes the second highest drafted Buc in program history, an hour or so after Rodriguez set the bar with his selection by the Brewers.
Ayala was just the ninth NJCAA player selected in the draft and along with Rodriguez, became only the second pair of teammates from an NJCAA school to be selected in the top 10 rounds. The two were the only two players from the FCSAA to be selected on the first two days of the draft.