After 20 rounds and three days, 10 players from BIG EAST member schools were selected in the 2021 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. BIG EAST Tournament and regular season champion Connecticut led the league with five players selected in the draft. Villanova junior right-hander Gordon Graceffo was the first BIG EAST pick.
 
Graceffo was selected in the fifth round, 151st overall, by the St. Louis Cardinals. It was the third time in the last 10 years a Wildcat was selected by the Cardinals. Graceffo is the highest draft pick for Villanova since 2011. A classic power pitcher who features a fastball, slider and changeup in his repertoire, Graceffo becomes the 70th all-time draft pick from the Villanova baseball program. On the third day of the draft, righty Jimmy Kinsgbury was chosen by the Seattle Mariners in the 17th round, 504th overall.  Head coach Kevin Mulvey has had four draft selections in his five years at the helm of the VU program. This is the first time since 2017 that Villanova has had two players chosen in the MLB Draft.
 
The first of UConn’s five picks was junior closer Ben Casparius who was also chosen in the fifth round. He was picked up by the Los Angeles Dodgers as pick No. 169 overall. He is the fifth player under UConn head coach Jim Penders to be selected in the top five rounds of the Draft. Casparius finished second in UConn single-season history with 127 strikeouts and ranked No. 12 in the country in strikeouts. He led the Huskies and BIG EAST Conference in starts (15), wins (8), innings pitched (91.2) and strikeouts (127). Husky catcher Pat Winkel was selected in the ninth round by the Minnesota Twins, the first of three BIG EAST players to be selected by the organization. Winkel is the third-straight UConn catcher to be taken in the MLB Draft. Max McDowell (2013-15) was picked by the Brewers in the 2015 MLB Draft and Zac Susi (2016-18) was taken by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Overall, the Orange, Conn. native is the seventh catcher drafted Penders, also a former UConn catcher.
 
BIG EAST Player of the Year and tournament Most Outstanding Player Kyler Fedko was the next UConn player to be drafted as he was chosen in the 12th round, also by the Twins. Winkel and Fedko join former teammate Anthony Prato (7th Round, 2019) in the Twins organization.  In addition to BIG EAST honors, Fedko was the NCBWA District 2 Player of the Year and All-America honoree with Collegiate Baseball, Baseball America, ABCA and NCBWA. Also drafted on the third day of the MLB Draft were teammates Caleb Wurster (15th round, Marlins) and Andrew Marrero (18th Round, Cardinals). Wurster, a lefty, was a First Team All-BIG EAST reliever and led the league with nine saves on the year. Right-hander Marrero closed his UConn career with 22 appearances out of the bullpen, including 18 in 2021.
 
UConn’s five picks were the most in the first 20 rounds of the draft since having six taken in the 2011 MLB Draft.
 
Seton Hall right-handed pitcher David Festa became the third BIG EAST player to be picked up by the Twins as he was selected in the 13th round, the 399th player selected. Festa became the 111th Seton Hall Pirate to be drafted. Previously, the Twins have also drafted Seton Hall players Brian Gilbert (2013) and Zack Granite (2017). Granite made his major league debut and played 40 games with Minnesota in 2017.
 
St. John’s redshirt junior Nick Mondak, the Red Storm’s ace pitcher in 2021, was selected in the 18th round, as the Los Angeles Angels selected the southpaw No. 531 overall. Mondak is the 12th Red Storm hurler since 2015 to be selected in the MLB Draft. All but one of those pitchers was taken in the first 18 rounds.
 
The draft was shortened from 40 rounds to five rounds in 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, MLB had 20 rounds for the first-year player draft. In the past seven seasons, 82 BIG EAST players have been selected in the First-Year Player Draft.

 
BIG EAST Players in 2021 MLB First-Year Player Draft
 

Round (Overall Pick)	Player, School, Yr., Pos.	Team
5th (151)	Gordon Graceffo, Villanova, Jr., RHP	St. Louis Cardinals
5th (169)	Ben Casparius, UConn, Jr., RHP	Los Angeles Dodgers
9th (279)	Pat Winkel, UConn, So., C	Minnesota Twins
12th (369)	Kyler Fedko, UConn, So., OF	Minnesota Twins
13th (399)	David Festa, Seton Hall, Jr., RHP	Minnesota Twins
15th (449)	Caleb Wurster, UConn, RS-So., LHP	Seattle Mariners
17th (502)	Nick Zwack, Xavier, Sr., LHP	New York Mets
17th (504)	Jimmy Kingsbury, Villanova, Sr., RHP	Seattle Mariners
18th (531)	Nick Mondak, St. John’s, RS-Jr., LHP	Los Angeles Angels
18th (541)	Andrew Marrero, UConn, Fr., RHP	St. Louis Cardinals