It was the moment each had been dreaming about since they first put on a baseball glove. It came this week as, for the first time in program history, three William & Mary players were selected in the first 10 rounds of the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft.
As expected, right-handed pitcher Nate Knowles ’25 was the first off the board when the Tampa Bay Rays selected him in the fourth round with the 124th overall pick. Next came lefty Travis Garnett ’25, who the Arizona Diamondbacks took in the eighth round (254th overall).
Left fielder Joe Delossantos ’24 made it three when the New York Yankees called his name in round 10 (301st overall).
Where were they when they heard the news?
Delossantos, the only fifth year of the trio, wasn’t certain he would go on day two. Because of that, he wasn’t glued to the tracker when his name went up just after 5:30 Monday afternoon.
“I was walking around the Outlet Mall here in Williamsburg, and I was in the Nike store,” he said. “One of my former teammates, Matt McDermott (’21), texted me ‘Boom!’ I was like, ‘What are you talking about?’
“So I went to check because I wasn’t keeping up with the tracker and I figured my agent was going to give me a call. I looked and then it was there. I looked at my friend, and we kind of embraced for a second, and then my phone went nuts.”
Knowles and Garnett have more traditional stories.
“I figured it would be in the earlier side of (Tuesday), so me and my family were watching the tracker and waiting for a call on the couch,” said Knowles, who was home in Arlington. “We eventually got it, and it was great.”
“I was at home (Pasadena, Maryland) with my family, and we were kind of following the draft a little bit,” Garnett said. “I wasn’t really sure what was going to transpire once it got started.
“Then I got a text saying I should keep an eye out for the eighth round, and it was going to be Diamondbacks. The rest is history.”
At No. 124 overall, Knowles became the fifth-highest pick in program history. In his junior season, he went 8-3 and led the CAA in starts (19), strikeouts (112) and opponent’s batting average (.179). He was named the CAA Pitcher of the Year and an All-American.
According to a story on MLB.com, the Rays were impressed by Knowles’ four-pitch repertoire that includes a fastball in the 91-95 mph range.
“I don’t know how they’ll use me in the minors, especially this first year, because I’m new to the organization,” said Knowles, who won’t turn 21 until September. “One of the things that drew me to them was that they think I’m a starter. But I’d be happy pitching anywhere, honestly.”
Knowles is scheduled to be at the Rays’ training facility in Port Charlotte, Florida, on Thursday. They were one of the teams who left him with a good vibe in pre-draft conversations.
“Really, we connected with pitching development and analytical approach,” he said. “I had a good relationship with them from the start, and I was always hoping they would be the team that takes me. I’m super pumped because they’re one of the better teams in developing pitchers.”
Garnett, a transfer from Maryland, went 5-0 with all of his appearances coming in relief. He held the opposition to a batting average of .194 and had 45 strikeouts in 27.1 innings.
He’s an interesting prospect for two reasons. First and most obvious, he’s a 6-foot-6, 225-pound left hander.
“The scouts, a lot of what they do is about projection and who they think you can be in five years versus the player you are now,” Garnett said. “I’m blessed in that I have some God-given abilities being left-handed, big and strong. It definitely doesn’t hurt.”
The second reason is that before arriving at W&M last fall, he had faced only 13 batters in his career. That came in the 2023 season at Maryland after recovering from a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his senior year of high school.
“That took me out for my freshman year at Maryland,” said Garnett, who underwent Tommy John surgery. “When I came back [in 2023], I struggled with my command and getting back into the swing of things. But I found a good spot at William & Mary.
“I had some buzz in high school, I guess, as far as being a potential draft prospect. But definitely, without this season at William & Mary, and without my teammates and my coaches, obviously the draft would not have been a reality for me.”
Garnett was set to fly to Scottsdale, Arizona, on Wednesday.
Delossantos was the only player in the CAA to finish among the top 11 in batting average (.330), home runs (14), RBI (67) and stolen bases (17) in the conference stats. He started 57 games this past spring in left field after starting 55 games the previous year in center field.
“They’re going to prefer to keep me at the corners, whether it be left or right,” said Delossantos, referring to the Yankees. “Center field would be in a pinch if someone is hurt.”
Delossantos, who graduated in May with a B.S. in kinesiology, was due to be on a plane for Tampa Wednesday morning.
“Everything’s moving pretty fast,” he said. “I actually was on the phone with Stewart Smothers, he’s the area scout and the one who submitted me. He called me (Monday) night and said ‘I want you to have fun with your family but we want to get you out here for Wednesday.’
“I’ll probably do a couple of weeks instruction. I’m an older guy, so my clock has been started for a while. I have to do my thing, do my job really well, so I can advance as fast as possible.”