CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers'
Sam Antonacci,
Derek Bender, and
Alexander Meckley were chosen in the 2024 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft by the Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins, and Washington Nationals, respectively. Coastal has had at least one player selected in the MLB Draft for 28 straight seasons, dating back to the 1997 MLB Draft.
With the 140th pick, the White Sox selected Chanticleer infielder Antonacci in the fifth round. The Springfield, Ill., native started all 61 games at third base while slashing .367/.523/.504 at the plate. His .367 batting average and .523 on-base percentage led the CCU offense. Antonacci totaled 83 hits, 13 doubles, and six home runs, including reaching base safely in the first 44 games of the season.
In the field, Antonacci finished with a .911 fielding percentage. In 169 chances, the junior infielder had 55 putouts with 99 assists and was part of nine double plays while committing 15 errors.
The Twins selected Bender in the sixth round with the 188th pick. Over three years, Bender hit .326 in 144 games played with 130 starts. Defensively, the junior from Myrtle Beach, S.C., totaled 370 putouts with 30 assists without committing any errors.
As a sophomore in 2023, Bender set the Coastal Carolina single-season RBI record with 83 runs batted in while hitting .341 with 86 hits, 13 doubles, two triples, and 19 homers. Bender was named to the All-Sun Belt Conference first team while hitting in the cleanup spot in the top offense in the Sun Belt.
Bender was ranked in the top 10 in the SBC in batting average (.357), slugging percentage (.685), OPS (1.098), hits (76), RBI (83), and home runs (18) on the season. In league play, he ranked in the top 10 in RBI (43), home runs (11), hits (45), runs (36), and slugging percentage (.677) in 30 SBC contests.
The catcher/designated hitter was named to the 2023 American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings NCAA Division I Atlantic All-Region first team, the ABCA/Rawlings All-America first team, and the 2023 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division I All-America Team.
In the 12th round, with the 350th pick the Nationals selected Meckley. A transfer from WVU Potomac State College, the right-handed pitcher finished 4-4 on the year with 21 appearances and nine starts. With a 7.52 ERA, Meckley tallied one save on the season while pitching a complete game in a seven-inning 12-2 win over Ball State.
In 52.2 innings pitched, the Gettysburg, Pa., native totaled 57 strikeouts with 27 walks and allowed 46 runs on 54 hits.
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