Cade McGee of Texas Tech baseball team drafted by St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals used the 261st overall pick to sign the 6-foot-1, 195-pound Tucson native. The pick has a slot value of $198,000.

McGee spent his first two college years at Gonzaga before transferring to Texas Tech last season. With the Bulldogs, McGee was named the West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year and was named a 2022 Freshman All-American by Baseball America. He started all 20 games he played in in 2023, including pitching an inning and finishing a triple under the cycle in a Feb. 20 game in Lubbock against the Red Raiders.

This season at Texas Tech, McGee started 56 of the 57 games he appeared in, posting a .282 batting average on the season with an OPS of 1.030 with 15 home runs, 55 RBI and a .580 slugging percentage. He was also a ball magnet at the plate, being hit by a pitch 23 times this season. He also led the team in walks draw (37) and on-base percentage (.450).