University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Fox, Andrade Both Selected in Seventh Round of MLB Draft
7/15/2024 6:32:00 PM | Baseball
PITTSBURGH – Pitt right-handed pitchers Phil Fox and Ryan Andrade were each selected in the seventh round of the 2024 MLB Draft on Monday afternoon.
Phil Fox, an All-American, was taken by the Chicago White Sox with the 199th overall selection while Ryan Andrade was taken just minutes later by the Tampa Bay Rays with the 216th overall pick. They are the first Panther teammates to be taken in the same round of the same draft since 2011 when Ray Black (San Francisco Giants) and Kevan Smith (Chicago White Sox) were also selected in the seventh round together.
Fox and Andrade are also the highest draft selections of the Mike Bell Era. Under Bell, the program has now seen eight Panthers selected in the MLB Draft.
?????? ???? ?????? ?????? ??@foxphil22 ? @whitesox
— Pitt Baseball (@Pitt_BASE) July 15, 2024
Phil is headed to the Windy City ????#H2P pic.twitter.com/1vudcnL5AN
Phil Fox is the fourth Panther to be drafted by the White Sox organization and the first since Aaron Schnurbursh was selected in 2016.
In his first year with the program, Fox earned All-America (third team), All-Region (first team) and All-ACC (second team) honors as Pitt's closer.
Fox was lights out in 2024, collecting eight saves, three wins and 45 strikeouts in his 23 appearances. The right-hander finished the year with a 1.47 ERA, allowing only seven runs in 36.2 innings pitched. He ranked second in the ACC in games finished (20) and third in the ACC in saves (8).
His eight saves last year were the second-most in a single season in program history. And after just one season, Fox sits fourth all-time in Pitt history in career saves. The Pittsburgh native earned saves against top-ranked teams like No. 7 Duke, No. 8 Florida State and No. 13 Virginia Tech while working scoreless outings against No. 6 Clemson, No. 7 Virginia and No. 7 North Carolina.
At Gardner-Webb last year, after redshirting in 2022 due to Tommy John Surgery, Fox was named to the Big South All-Freshman Team. He appeared in 23 games and made one start over 30.1 innings. He emerged as the team's closer and lead the Runnin' Bulldogs in that category with three saves last season.
Fox attended local Hempfield Area High School in Greensburg, PA where he was ranked as one of the top 500 players in the country. As a two-way player at Hempfield, he hit .300 with seven runs scored during his sophomore year while he maintained a 2.62 ERA on the mound.
Ryan to the Rays ??@RyanAndrade24 ? @RaysBaseball
— Pitt Baseball (@Pitt_BASE) July 15, 2024
Andrade is Tampa Bay bound ????#H2P pic.twitter.com/Ci4Daa2QcQ
Ryan Andrade is only the second Panther ever to be selected by the Tampa Bay Rays, following Jimmy Mayer who was taken in 2006. He joins former Panther, Tatem Levins, who is in the Rays organization and currently in High-A.
Andrade was Pitt's Friday night starter for the entirety of the 2024 season and was the only Panther pitcher to start in all of his appearances last year. The right-hander from Middletown, RI made 15 starts and earned two wins in his first year at Pitt. His 15 starts tied him for 8th in all of the ACC. In 63 innings of work, Andrade struck out a team-high 72 batters which ranked him 18th in the ACC.
Andrade put together impressive starts against No. 6 Clemson, No. 8 Florida State, No. 13 Virginia Tech, No. 16 North Carolina and Miami in 2024.
In his second start of the year, Andrade struck out a career-high nine batters in just 4.2 innings against Washington in the Kleberg Bank College Classic in Corpus Christi, TX.
He dazzled in Pitt's ACC opener at No. 16 North Carolina in early March, holding a potent Tar Heel offense that slugged their way to Omaha to just one run over five innings. While at No. 6 Clemson in mid-April, Andrade sat down eight Tigers via the strikeout.
In perhaps the best start of his career, Andrade blanked No. 8 Florida State through seven innings in a true pitcher's duel in their series opener. Andrade struck out eight batters and allowed just three hits as the Panthers shutout and upset the No. 8 Seminoles on a Friday night in Oakland.
Prior to Pitt, Andrade starred at the University of Rhode Island for two years where he was an All-Atlantic 10 performer in 2023. He attended Middletown High School in Rhode Island where he earned all-state honors and was named the Rhode Island High School Player of the Year as a senior in 2021.
