WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – William & Mary baseball's Nate Knowles was selected by the ­­­Tampa Bay Rays in the fourth round of the 2024 MLB Draft at overall pick No. 124, following an exceptional junior season. He becomes the fifth highest pick in program history.

The CAA Pitcher of the Year closes a decorated collegiate career and enters the next chapter in his baseball story as the Tribe's 41^st selection in the MLB Amateur Draft era. He becomes the 10^th player hailing from W&M to hear his name called in the top five rounds and the second in as many years. 

Knowles became the first pitcher in Tribe history to earn the prestigious All-America honor, tabbed a third-team All-American by NCBWA and ABCA/Rawlings in 2024. His spectacular year landed him in the top 25 nationally in four statistics, led by his 10^th-ranked 2.47 ERA. 

The righty concluded his W&M career among the top 25 in seven career categories, with his .197 opponent batting average and 10.67 strikeouts per nine innings sitting at second and third, respectively. His 2024 season also saw eight top-15 marks, including tying the program-record 19 starts. 

Knowles fanned 112 batters over 80 innings in 2024, the fourth-most single-season strikeouts in program history. Joining elite company, he now sits among 12 other players who have eclipsed the 86-strikeout mark in a season, seven of whom have gone on to get drafted in the year the mark was achieved.

Once again, Knowles etches his name into another line in the William & Mary baseball history books.
 
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