Bowling Green baseball junior outfielder Nathan Archer has been selected by the Chicago White Sox as the 349th overall pick in the 12th round of the 2024 MLB Draft, becoming the 53rd draft pick in program history.
Archer, the reigning Mid-American Conference (MAC) Player of the Year, is the first Falcon drafted to the MLB in nearly a decade since Trey Keegan and Brian Bien were taken in 2015.
Archer is the first player drafted under BGSU’s recently extended head coach, Kyle Hallock.
In his three seasons at Bowling Green, Archer dazzled in the outfield, tallying a .986 fielding percentage, highlighted by an errorless sophomore campaign.
On top of his lockdown defense, Archer excelled in the batter’s box as Bowling Green’s leadoff hitter.
In 154 games wearing the Orange and Brown, Archer batted .299 while maintaining a .370 on-base percentage and .559 slugging percentage. Archer developed into a speed/power threat at Bowling Green, swiping 39 bases over three seasons.
The Lagrange, Ohio, native ranks fourth in program history in career home runs (35), sixth in triples (10), seventh in total bases (340), and eighth in runs batted in (137).
Archer dominated this past season, leading the Falcons to their first MAC tournament berth since 2015 and their first MAC regular season outright championship since 2009.
Archer’s selection in the MLB Draft marks a new era of Bowling Green baseball, with the team looking to expand their success on the diamond and in the big leagues.
“[Archer] is going to move onto professional baseball and make his run at the big leagues. Some of those guys in the classes below him are going to realize that it is possible at Bowling Green State University to do it again,” Hallock said after the season. “Archer’s going to start that, and then there’s going to be more names to follow, and that’s what we’re excited for.”
