Ole Miss pitcher Gunnar Hoglund drafted 19th overall by Toronto Blue Jays

On Sunday, the first round of the 2021 MLB Draft kicked off. And it didn’t take long for the Ole Miss Rebels to crash the party.*

Rebels’ Friday night starter Gunnar Hoglund was selected 19th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays. In 2021, before his season was cut short, the Hudson, Fla. native went 4-2 and sported a 2.87 earned run average. In just 62.2 innings, Hoglund struck out 96(!) batters, good enough for 5th in the nation and third in the Southeastern Conference.

Obviously Hoglund’s 2021 season was cut short due to a torn UCL, but the first round projection held strong and the Blue Jays agreed with said projection, taking the Rebel Sunday evening with their first pick.

In high school, Holgund was selected 36th overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates and chose to turn them down to come to Oxford and play for Ole Miss. Now, fast forward three years and he has jumped up seven spots and earned a slot value of $3.35 million.

This just goes to show that you should trust your gut, follow your dreams, and fuck the haters.

*EDITOR’S NOTE: Yes, we know 2021 Ole Miss signee Jackson Jobe was taken 3rd overall but we don’t want to talk about that right now