Pittsburgh Pirates select Kent State catcher Justin Miknis in 16th round of MLB Draft
Kent State catcher Justin Miknis is on his way to professional baseball.
The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Miknis with the 467th overall pick in the 16th round of the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft on Tuesday.
Miknis is a 6-foot, 195-pound senior from Dubois, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Dubois Central Catholic.
Miknis earned All-Mid-American Conference first-team honors in 2023 and was a MAC All-Defensive Team selection as a junior and senior. He started all 58 games this past season for KSU at either catcher, third base or designated hitter.
Miknis finished the season with a .318 batting average and was third on the team in doubles (15) and RBIs (46). He also hit eight home runs and two triples, scored 55 runs and threw out 15 would-be base stealers. He had four hits and four RBIs in the third game of the season, a win at Jacksonville.
Miknis started all 159 games he played in during the past three seasons at Kent State. He totaled a .319 batting average with 188 hits, 127 runs, 42 doubles, four triples, 20 home runs and 117 RBIs.
Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Pittsburgh Pirates pick Kent State catcher Justin Miknis in MLB Draft
