Former Fort Collins, Oregon baseball star Colby Shade picked in ninth round of MLB Draft
Former Fort Collins High School and Oregon baseball star Colby Shade was selected in the ninth round of the 2023 Major League Baseball draft on Monday.
The Miami Marlins used pick No. 263 overall on Shade, who just wrapped up a standout season as a Ducks junior.
Shade batted .336 in 2023 with six homers, 31 RBI and 55 runs scored while also earning All-Pac 12 Defensive Team and national Gold Glove finalist nods for his play in center field.
He sparked Oregon to a Pac-12 Tournament title with a game-tying triple turned inside the park homer over top-seeded Stanford in pool play.
More: Former Fort Collins star Colby Shade sparks Pac-12 champ Oregon into NCAA Baseball Tournament
That propelled the Ducks into a four-team NCAA Tournament regional, which they won on the road at No. 6 national seed Vanderbilt.
However, Shade broke a bone in his arm during that Nashville regional and missed most of five ensuing postseason games. He was only used as a pinch hitter or runner in Oregon's three-game home Super Regional loss to upstart Oral Roberts.
Overall, Shade played 148 games over three seasons for the Ducks with 114 starts, all of them as a centerfielder.
As of Monday night, Shade had not yet officially signed with Miami. The overwhelming majority of college players taken in the MLB Draft's first 10 rounds typically sign pro contracts rather than return to school.
The signing bonus slot value for the pick in MLB's pool system is $180,900. Shade's actual signing bonus could ultimately be for more or less than that figure. He does have better leverage as a junior with one year of college eligibility remaining.
𝐆𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐢@ColbyShade is headed to the @Marlins as a ninth round pick. Shade is the first Duck drafted by the Marlins since 2009 (Eddie Rodriguez to the then Florida Marlins). #GoDucks | #MLBDraft2023 pic.twitter.com/NOoXMcUSrO
— Oregon Duck Baseball (@OregonBaseball) July 10, 2023
He is the third-highest selected Oregon outfielder ever in the MLB Draft, behind only Aaron Zavala (2021 second round) and Anthony Hall (2022 fourth round).
In high school, Shade led Fort Collins to the 2019 Colorado Class 5A state semifinals as a junior. He batted a whopping .533 and was named Front Range League Player of the Year.
His senior year was highly anticipated, but the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the Lambkins' 2020 season before it started.
Shade's roots in the Northern Colorado area remain strong.
His parents (Eric and Leslie) still live in Windsor, and cousin Tyson just hit .425 on the season for the Wizards, who finished as the No. 8 seed in Class 4A.
Overall, Shade's selection marks the 28th time a player from the Fort Collins area has been taken in the MLB Draft.
MLB Draft: Past selections for local baseball players
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: MLB Draft: Oregon baseball standout-Colby Shade picked in 9th round
