New Mock Draft Projecting Every Pick In The First Round

Regionals for the NCAA tournament get going today. We released the first version of the BA 500 yesterday. The 2024 draft is just 44 days away. It’s time for Mock Draft V 3.0.

There’s still a clear-cut top tier of players in this year’s draft class, which ranges from 8-11 players depending on how much of a stickler you want to be on the cutoff. 

We’re more confident in the players who will be off the board among the top 10 picks than the specific order and with so many of these players participating in the NCAA tournament late performances could make all the difference. This top tier of players is clustered incredibly tightly and difficult to separate.

After that it’s still anyone’s guess, with the rest of the industry lamenting the relative weakness of the 2024 draft class. The perception of this class’s talent is the weakest of any I’ve covered going back to the 2018 class. As one scout reinforced to Carlos Collazo this week: there are 30 first-round picks, but there aren’t necessarily 30 first-round players.

Still, there’s plenty of changes today, including a new No. 1 overall pick, a new top high school option and plenty more. Baseball America subscribers can check it out below.

NCAA Regionals Scores, Bracket & Live Updates

One of the most glorious weekends on the baseball calendar has arrived.

NCAA Tournament regionals play begins today with all 64 teams in play across the ESPN family of networks. Action begins at 12 p.m. ET and will continue into the early hours of the morning. Baseball America college & MLB draft writer Peter Flaherty is tracking every game.

Below, find all of our 2024 NCAA Tournament preview material, plus our home for scores and regional-by-regional analysis. We’ll update this post throughout the weekend. Enjoy!

As Offense Numbers Explode, How Do Teams Analyze College Hitters?

The current offensive environment in college baseball is out of whack, at least compared to historical norms, and no one is quite sure why.

Is it juiced balls? Hot bats? Some combination of both?

The surge in offense now poses an interesting question to MLB teams and draft analysts: What’s real, and what isn’t?

Baseball America’s Geoff Pontes polled analysts from several MLB front offices about the current state of college baseball’s run environment, and whether they’ve adjusted their evaluation process in light of the changes. This is a fascinating deep dive into how some teams approach the draft, especially when evaluating college hitters.

Here’s what’s trending at Baseball America…

• Our latest MLB Draft podcast discusses the most anticipated prospects in each regional

• The Future Projection Pod dives deep — as only they can do — on our new BA 500 update and international reviews

• The 90th Percentile Podcast examines the myth of the safe college hitter at the top of the draft

• The college pod is excited for the weekend, but there are some teams missing from the field worth discussing

Join the thousands of fans, players, coaches and front office personnel who are the backbone of the Baseball America community by subscribing today.