Jared Nathan McKenzie (born May 16, 2001) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

in the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

organization.

Amateur career

McKenzie attended Round Rock High School in Round Rock, Texas, where he batted .535 with seven home runs alongside holding a 28-game hitting streak as a senior in 2019. Unselected in the

2019 Major League Baseball draft The 2019 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 3 to 5, 2019. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2018 MLB season standings. In additi ...

, he enrolled at

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...

to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

. McKenzie started 16 games in center field as a freshman in 2020 and hit .406 with 28 hits before the season was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. That summer, he played in the

Texas Collegiate League The Texas Collegiate League (TCL) is a collegiate summer baseball league made up of teams from the states of Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. The league's headquarters are in Coppell, Texas. Uri Geva, owner of the Brazos Valley Bombers, is the le ...

for the Round Rock Hairy Men. For the 2021 season, he started 51 games in center field and batted .383 with ten home runs, 44 RBIs, and 14 doubles. He earned All-

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

Honors. Following the season's end, he played in the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

with the

Orleans Firebirds The Orleans Firebirds, formerly the Orleans Cardinals, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Orleans, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Firebirds play t ...

where he hit .226 with 36 strikeouts over thirty games. Prior to the 2022 season, McKenzie was named an All American by numerous outlets and was also unanimously named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team. Over 54 games for the season, he batted .288 with 11 home runs and 42 RBIs. After the season, he entered the transfer portal.

Professional career

McKenzie was drafted by the

in the fifth round with the 141st overall selection of the

2022 Major League Baseball draft The 2022 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft took place on July 17–19, 2022, in Los Angeles. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. The draft order was based on the reverse order of the 2021 ...

. He signed with the team for $410,500. McKenzie made his professional debut with the Fredericksburg Nationals, hitting a home run in his first game with the team. Over seventy

at-bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a bat ...

s in 17 games, he hit .400 with two home runs, 15 RBIs, seven doubles, and 11 stolen bases. McKenzie played the 2023 season with the

Wilmington Blue Rocks The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Wilmington, Delaware, and play their home games at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. ...

with whom he batted .212 with six home runs and 35 RBIs over 105 games.https://www.masnsports.com/blog/harrisburg-wilmington-and-fredericksburg-set-opening-day-rosters

References

External links

Baylor Bears bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McKenzie, Jared 2001 births Living people Baseball players from Williamson County, Texas Baseball outfielders Baylor Bears baseball players Orleans Firebirds players Fredericksburg Nationals players Sportspeople from Round Rock, Texas