New York Mets Select Former Cougar Jaxon Jelkin in 2024 MLB Draft

PHOENIX ---

The New York Mets selected former South Mountain Community College pitcher Jaxon Jelkin in the ninth round with pick No. 263 in the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft. A 6-5 right-handed pitcher who spent the 2024 season at the University of Houston, Jelkin will now join the Mets organization as he begins his professional baseball career. 

Jelkin pitched in 2023 for SMCC and finished 7-2 with a 3.81 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 75.2 innings of work. He posted wins over Salt Lake CC, Lamar CC, Yavapai College, Cochise College, Paradise Valley CC, Chandler-Gilbert CC, and Eastern Arizona in 2023. He tossed complete game wins over Eastern Arizona and Yavapai College and fanned a season-high 12 batters in a win over Lamar CC. 

The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Jelkin in the 14th round (pick No. 430) in the 2023 MLB Draft, but Jelkin elected to attend the University of Houston in 2024. He made seven starts for the Cougars but did not record a decision in 34.1 innings of work. He recorded 46 strikeouts and held opponents to a .217 batting average with a 3.41 ERA before an injury cut his campaign short. 

SMCC has had a current or former player selected in every draft since 2021: Cade Povich and Ronan Kopp (2021), Gustavo Sosa (2022), and Jelkin (2023 and 2024). Jelkin is the first current or former Cougar to be selected by the New York Mets organization in the MLB Draft.