When Adley Rutschman was selected No. 1 overall in the 2019 MLB Draft, he left behind the single most-decorated career in Oregon State baseball history and one of the best college baseball careers.
Here’s a look at what Rutschman accomplished in his three seasons in Corvallis:
| year | g | avg | obp | slg | h | hr | rbi | bb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 61 | .234 | .322 | .306 | 49 | 2 | 33 | 27 |
| 2018 | 67 | .408 | .505 | .628 | 102 | 9 | 83 | 53 |
| 2019 | 57 | .411 | .575 | .751 | 76 | 17 | 58 | 76 |
As a freshman, Rutschman contributed to a Beaver team that spent 12 weeks at the top of the D1Baseball rankings and entered the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 overall seed. Oregon State reached the Men’s College World Series, but suffered the same fate as every other No. 1 seed since 1999, failing to win the national title.
1-SEED CURSE?: How each seed performs at the MCWS
Rutschman exploded onto the national scene as a sophomore, setting single-season program records in base hits (102) and RBI (83) on his way to All-American honors across the board, including being named to a couple of First Teams. He was named a semifinalist for several national player of the year awards.
The Beavers returned to Omaha and finished the job this time, winning the third national title in program history. Rutschman was named the Most Outstanding Player as he set the MCWS record for base hits with 17, tallied 13 RBI and launched two homers in eight games.
In his final season at Oregon State, the catcher improved in all three categories of his slash line, nearly doubled his home run total and walked more times than anyone else in Beaver baseball history. He finished as the only Beaver to hit over .400 in two seasons, was a unanimous First Team All-American and became the first OSU player to win the Golden Spikes Award, Dick Howser Trophy and Buster Posey Award — while sweeping every NPOY award as well.
If any single plate appearance encapsulates just how revered Rutschman was in college, just take a look at this:
Bases loaded intentional walk!?!?
Yes… Adley Rutschman is THAT good. #RoadToOmaha | @BeaverBaseball pic.twitter.com/WPbDfiByTc
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 1, 2019
In the end, as the first Oregon State player to be taken with the top pick in the draft, Rutschman left a legacy unmatched by most in college baseball history.
