A UConn Husky heard his name called on the second day of the 2026 MLB Draft. Left-handed pitcher Charlie West was selected in the seventh round with the No. 223 overall pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers. The South Setauket, New York, native pitched the past three seasons in Storrs.
West had a great spring for the Huskies, receiving All-Big East First Team honors after he led the conference in strikeouts with 111. He made 16 starts and had a 4.12 ERA in 87.1 innings, accumulating a 6-6 record on the mound. His best performance of the season came on April 12 when he struck out a career-high 14 batters against Butler.
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The selection marks 21-straight MLB Drafts in which UConn has had at least one player drafted or signed by an MLB club. West is the 80th player selected under head coach Jim Penders, who has had a player drafted or signed in all but one of his 23 years leading the dugout in Storrs.
West will try and join the group of 10 other players who have made the big leagues in Penders’ tenure, most recently Kyler Fedko with the Minnesota Twins earlier this year. West is the 18th Husky to be picked in the first 10 rounds since 2009.
So far this summer, West has a 2.16 ERA in four starts for the Brewster Whitecaps in the Cape Cod League, striking out 26 batters in 16.2 innings entering Monday.
Former Husky pitcher Ben Casparius is currently in the Dodgers organization as well and is currently on the 60-day injured list with a shoulder injury.
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