The Coastal Plain League announced that 50 players, both former and current, were selected during the 2021 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Trey Sweeney (Wilson) went 20th overall to the New York Yankees and Ryan Cusick went to the Atlanta Braves 24th overall as the first two off the board.

Sweeney, a shortstop out of Eastern Illinois, spent the 2020 summer in the CPL turning heads with the Wilson Tobs where he put up First Team All-CPL numbers. He finished second in the league in batting with a.397 average, seven doubles and four home runs in 17 games played. Sweeney continued his rise up the draft boards in the spring with Eastern Illinois were he posted a .382 average, 10 doubles and 14 home runs on his way to First Team All-American honors.

Cusick, a 6-6, 225-pound sophomore from Wake Forest pitched for the HiToms during the 2020 season, finishing as the CPL’s Pitcher of the Year with a 1.14 ERA across five starts and 23 2/3 innings pitched.

“Cuse [Cusick] was so much fun to coach,” said 2020 HiToms head coach Mickey Williard. “I had heard coming in about the sheer arm talent, but watching him compete to show off the things that would take his game to next level was great to see. He exhibited increased fastball control to the tune of 40K/9BB and showed more consistent flash of a plus breaking ball offering. Couldn’t be happier for such a hard worker who is very deserving.”

As noted by Williard, his control was on display all season as the right-hander managed a league leading 40 strikeouts while walking only nine for a 15.21 strikeout per nine ratio. In total he allowed only 12 hits for a .114 opponent batting average and 0.53 WHIP while allowing only three earned runs all season.

In total, 13 of the current 15 CPL clubs saw a player selected in the 2021 draft, with the Tri-City Chili Peppers and Spartanburgers being the only two not represented as they both are in the midst of their inaugural season. The Lexington County Blowfish and Savannah Bananas led the way with 8 former and current players selected, followed closely by the Wilson Tobs with seven. Former CPL franchise Gastonia, along with Holly Springs, HP-Thomasville and Macon saw four former players selected each while Martinsville and Wilmington each had three. Next was Asheboro, Forest City, Peninsula and former CPL franchise Edenton with two each while Florence and Morehead City rounded out the group with one player selected.

The complete list of CPL players taken in this year’s draft is below:

Coastal Plain League Alumni Drafted In 2021 Major League Draft 
Round Overall Player College/University MLB Team Drafted By CPL Team(s)
1 20 Trey Sweeney Eastern Illinois New York (AL) Wilson ’20
1 24 Ryan Cusick Wake Forest Atlanta HP-Thomasville ’20
2 60 Zack Gelof Virginia Oakland HP-Thomasville ’20
3 98 Cade Povich Nebraska Minnesota Savannah ’20
3 99 Kevin Kopps Arkansas San Diego Gastonia ’16 / Martinsville ’20
4 112 Dustin Saenz Texas A&M Washington Savannah ’19
5 141 Brett Kerry South Carolina Los Angeles (AL) Lexington ’20
5 146 Rohan Handa Yale San Francisco Gastonia ’19
5 147 Ethan Murray Duke Milwaukee HP-Thomasville ’20
5 148 Quincy Hamilton Wright State Houston Edenton ’19
5 149 Brady Allen South Carolina Miami Lexington County ’20
7 207 Tristan Peters Southern Illinois Milwaukee Savannah ’21
7 214 Parker Chavers Coastal Carolina Chicago (NL) Martinsville ’18
7 219 Jake Rucker Tennessee Minnesota Forest City ’19
7 221 Logan Workman Lee Tampa Bay HP-Thomasville ’19 / Savannah ’20
8 234 James Parker Clemson Seattle Wilmington ’19
8 235 Jason Ruffcorn Oklahoma Philadelphia Savannah ’18
8 239 Patrick Monteverde Texas Tech Miami Peninsula ’17
8 245 Fraser Ellard Liberty Chicago (AL) Macon ’20
8 252 Ben Harris Georgia Los Angeles (NL) Asheboro ’19
9 254 Liam Hicks Arkansas State Texas Holly Springs ’19
9 269 Jake Schrand Wright State Miami Wilson ’20
10 285 Austin Schultz Kentucky Detroit Savannah ’19
10 286 Matt Litwicki Indiana Boston Peninsula ’19 / Macon ’20
10 289 Shane Connolly Virginia Tech Kansas City Lexington County ’20
10 291 Andrew Peters South Carolina Los Angeles (AL) Lexington County ’20
10 297 Wes Clarke South Carolina Milwaukee Lexington County ’20
10 298 Michael Sandle South Alabama Houston Wilmington ’17
10 311 Austin Vernon North Carolina Central Tampa Bay Wilson ’18
11 315 Josh Crouch Central Florida Detroit Savannah ’20
11 335 Christian Edwards Jacksonville State Chicago (AL) Lexington County ’20
12 350 Mason Green Central Missouri Colorado Gastonia ’18
12 368 Mitch Myers Pittsburgh Oakland Wilson ’20
13 375 Chris Meyers Toledo Detroit Wilson ’19, ’20
13 379 Patrick Halligan Pensacola State Kansas City Martinsville ’20
13 383 Mack Anglin Clemson Washington Lexington County ’20
13 385 Jared Carr Shepherd University Philadelphia Wilson ’19, ’20, ’21
14 405 RJ Petit Charleston Southern Detroit Lexington County ’20
14 407 Daniel Lloyd South Carolina Baltimore Savannah ’19
16 473 Jack Sinclair Central Florida Washington Macon ’20
16 481 Aaron McKeithan Charlotte St. Louis Wilmington ’19
16 485 Terrell Tatum NC State Chicago (AL) Holly Springs ’18
16 489 Johnathan Lavallee Long Beach State Minnesota Morehead City ’21
18 530 Bryce McGowan UNC Charlotte Colorado Gastonia ’19
18 543 Bailey Dees Penn State New York (AL) Holly Springs ’18, ’19
18 551 Kenny Piper Columbia Tampa Bay Florence ’19
19 578 Blake Beers Michigan Oakland Edenton ’19
19 581 Sean Hunley Tennessee Tampa Bay Forest City ’18
20 586 Josh Hood Pennsylvania Colorado Asheboro ’19 / Macon ’20 / Holly Springs ’21
20 595 Cam Wynne Nebraska Philadelphia Wilson ’21