Texas State pitcher Levi Wells was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2023 MLB Draft in the fourth round with the 118th overall pick. 
Wells spent his freshman year pitching out of the bullpen for the Texas Tech Red Raiders, but after transferring to Texas State for his sophomore year, he found success in the Bobcat starting rotation in the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
In MLB.com’s scouting report of Wells, he put himself into early round consideration at the start of the 2023 season.
“Projected as a reliever when he was a prepster, he now looks like a four-pitch starter with a bulldog attitude,” Wells’ scouting report on MLB.com states.
After finishing his 2022 campaign with a 3.07 ERA, Wells frequented the Friday night starter role in the 2023 season, where he finished with a 5.02 ERA.
Wells started this season strong, twice earning Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week and once earning Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week, but Wells allowed 26 earned runs in his last six starts which ballooned his season ERA to nearly two runs above his total last season.
Despite that lackluster finish to an otherwise solid college pitching career, Wells’ raw stuff and presence on the mound was enough for him to be selected in the fourth round of the MLB Draft.
While the first round was headlined by names like LSU teammates Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews, the MLB Draft is far less predictable than that of other sports. A non-first round draft pick, like Wells’ fourth round selection, is not always representative of talent levels; MLB Hall of Famers Jeff Bagwell and Rickey Henderson were both selected in the fourth round of their respective draft classes.
2022 NL MVP and former Texas State baseball player Paul Goldschmidt was selected in the eighth round of the 2009 MLB Draft. 
Wells will look to become the 18th Bobcat baseball player to play in the MLB.