Nebraska junior shortstop Brice Matthews was selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball Draft by the Houston Astros on Sunday night. Matthews, who became the seventh first-round selection in NU history, was the No. 28 pick overall in the draft, which is being held in Seattle.
Matthews is Nebraska’s highest overall selection since 2005, when third baseman Alex Gordon was chosen No. 2 overall by the Kansas City Royals. Matthews is NU’s first 1st-round selection since 2006, when right-handed pitcher Joba Chamberlain was the No. 41 overall selection by the New York Yankees.
Matthews, a product of Humble, Texas, is the seventh Husker to be selected by the Astros in the draft. The NU junior was a Dick Howser Trophy semifinalist and second-team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) after batting .359 with 11 doubles, two triples, 20 home runs, 67 RBI and 61 runs scored in 2023.
Nebraska junior Max Anderson was selected in the second round of the Major League Baseball Draft by the Detroit Tigers on Sunday night. Anderson, who became the fifth second-round selection in NU history, was the No. 45 pick overall in the draft, which is being held in Seattle.
With the selections of Brice Matthews and Anderson, the Huskers become the first program to have their middle infield drafted in the first two rounds since 2015, where Arizona State’s Scott Kingery and Kevin Newman were picked up in the first and second rounds.
Anderson becomes Nebraska’s fourth selection in the top three rounds since 2021, following Matthews earlier tonight and Spencer Schwellenbach (Second) and Cade Povich (Third) in 2021. The last time the Huskers had two draftees in the first two rounds was back when Darin Erstad and Alvie Shepherd were selected with the first and 21st overall picks in the 1995 MLB Draft.
The Omaha native is the third Husker to be selected by the Tigers in the draft. The NU junior was a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy and consensus second-team All-American by all media outlets after batting .414 with 20 doubles, three triples, 21 home runs, 70 RBI and 51 runs scored in 2023.
