This post was updated July 14 at 10:09 p.m.

Collegiate athletics allows student-athletes to obtain degrees while competing at the highest levels.

However, many of them are bound by a shared dream.

They want to go pro.

From the likes of Gerrit Cole to Matt McLain, 126 members of UCLA baseball have been taken in the MLB Draft since coach John Savage took over the program in 2005.

Assistant Sports editor Kai Dizon and Daily Bruin contributor Noah Massey look at five Bruins who could hear their names called once the 2024 MLB Draft commences Sunday.

Second baseman Duce Gourson
Dizon’s Pick: Second Round
MLB Comparison: Josh Smith, 2019 second-round pick by the New York Yankees out of LSU

Leading the team in OPS every season from 2022 to 2024, second baseman Duce Gourson has unequivocally been UCLA’s best and most consistent hitter during his time in Westwood.

Gourson led the team with 23 doubles and a .439 on-base percentage in his Freshman All-American campaign. In a career-best season in 2023, the San Diego local racked up double-digit doubles and homers while maintaining a team-leading .438 on-base clip and career-high .953 OPS.

While Gourson regressed in 2024 – recording career lows in batting average and on-base percentage as a junior – he still managed a team-leading .909 OPS. He walked around 14.9% of the time in his career – a testament to his consistently-high on-base percentage – and struck out 21.6%.

Despite being far from the team’s speediest, Gourson’s ability to get on base and base run effectively landed him 23 career steals – a career 85.2% success rate on stolen bases – and a team-leading eight swiped bases in 2024.

Gourson’s consistency and reliability is marred only by his home run ability. As a freshman, the second baseman went yard just once every 74 plate appearances, but that number shrunk to a big fly every 24.9 plate appearances in his sophomore campaign. In 2024, Gourson trotted the bases once every 34.4 plate appearances.

Gourson played 80% of his games at second base for the Bruins, but has been thrown at shortstop and third base in his career. Regardless, it’s the 6-foot, 200-pound infielder’s bat that demands he be taken on day one of the draft.

Shortstop Cody Schrier
2024 stats: .242/.320/.354, 5 2B, 5 HR, 23 RBI, 208 PA
Dizon’s Pick: Eighth Round
MLB Comparison: Marcus Semien, 2011 sixth-round pick by the Chicago White Sox out of California

Shortstop Cody Schrier hit the ground running in 2021. He slashed .298/.383/.492 and led UCLA with nine homers en route to Pac-12 All-Conference and Freshman All-American honors.

Schrier began the following season on the 2023 Golden Spikes Award Watch List.

While the shortstop’s OPS dipped nearly 30 points in his second campaign, this alone would not indicate a sophomore slump. The San Clemente, California, local saw his strikeout percentage jump from 17.8% in 2022 to 25.2% in 2023, while his walk percentage remained relatively steady at 10.4% and 9.7%, respectively, before his season was cut short by a left-labrum injury.

A preseason all-conference honoree to begin 2024, the junior got his season off to a scorching start, slashing .452/.553/.710 across his first eight games. However, the former JSerra Catholic High School shortstop regressed the rest of the way, finishing with a career-worst .674 OPS.

Schrier’s BABIP dropped from .394 in 2023 to just .319 in 2024 while his strikeout and walk percentages shifted to 20.7% and 9.1%, respectively, suggesting that some bad luck may have been in play. However, his home run rate dropped from a longball every 25.8 plate appearances in 2023 to one every 41.6 in 2024.

Holding a career .947 fielding percentage on defense, it’s likely Schrier will move away from shortstop in the Minor Leagues.

Schrier shouldn’t be defined by his 2024 struggles, but he’s probably not as productive a player as his freshman campaign suggested. Players are generally expected to improve throughout their collegiate careers – Schrier progressed in the opposite direction. If his freshman and junior seasons were swapped, Schrier would likely be taken within the first three rounds.

Regardless, it seems the three-year starter has played his final games in blue and gold – Schrier entered the transfer portal July 1.

Right-hander Luke Jewett
Massey’s Pick: Ninth round
MLB Comparison: Pete Fairbanks, 2015 ninth-round pick by the Texas Rangers out of Missouri

Having never made a collegiate start before 2024, right-hander Luke Jewett ended the season as the third consecutive Bruin to make the jump from the back end of the bullpen to the weekend rotation, following Max Rajcic and Alonzo Tredwell.

In his first two collegiate seasons, Jewett worked exclusively out of the bullpen. He maintained a 3.68 ERA over 44 innings of work as a freshman before being named the primary closer ahead of his sophomore season. While his season was cut midway through due to injury, Jewett logged a team-high four saves with a K/BB ratio of 21.

The Ladera Ranch, California, local entered the 2024 season as the Friday night starter but struggled with consistency, allowing four or more earned runs in five of his 14 starts. The right-hander found even footing during a six-start stretch from the end of March to the beginning of May, posting a 1.47 ERA that gave a glimpse of his upside to MLB suitors.

Featuring a unique over-the-top windup and projectible pitcher’s build at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, Jewett sits around 92 miles per hour with his fastball – though he can reach 97 as a reliever – while also displaying a low-80s slider, a mid-70s curveball and a mid-80s changeup.

However, with both a career WHIP of 1.44 and K/9 of 7.8 last season, Jewett’s abilities may translate better as a reliever than as a starter at the professional level.

While his collegiate track record won’t impress many, Jewett has shown flashes of excellence over his collegiate career and projects well at the next level, especially if he further refines his four-pitch mix.

Right-hander Rashad Ruff
Massey’s pick: 13th round
MLB comparison: Ron Marinaccio, 2017 19th-round pick by the Yankees out of Delaware

The unsung hero for UCLA baseball had an unconventional season.

Prior to his time at UCLA, right-hander Rashad Ruff pitched at Coppin State for four years, appearing primarily as the Eagles’ closer, tossing 33 innings with a 3.82 ERA and five saves in 2023.

This season, the graduate student transfer was one of few high-leverage options consistently available and was thrust into relief appearances longer than a closer would normally partake in. Across 27 appearances and 47 innings pitched, Ruff managed a 2-6 record, 4.02 ERA and 10.3 K/9. However, when making appearances of one inning or less, Ruff had an ERA of 1.86 while posting an 11.2 K/9. But only 9.2 of his 47 innings came in this manner.

The Moreno Valley, California, local has a low three-quarter arm slot and utilizes an arsenal consisting of a low-90s fastball, a low-to-mid-80s changeup and a low-to-mid-70s breaking ball.

While he was selected to both the NCBWA’s Preseason and Midseason Stopper of the Year Watch Lists, as well as being honored as an All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention, it was still a season of what-ifs for Ruff.

If he remained as a typical closer throughout the season, Ruff likely would have seen better numbers with a lighter workload. However, as the UCLA bullpen struggled to perform and stay healthy, this was not the case, and MLB scouts will have to evaluate Ruff beyond his raw statistics.

The right-hander’s potential at the next level is likely limited to that of a high-leverage, single-inning reliever. Due to his limited upside, advanced age of nearly 23 and unspectacular collegiate track record, Ruff will probably fall to day three.

Outfielder AJ Salgado
2024 stats: .300/.362/.422, 4 3B, 3 HR, 20 RBI, 6 SB, 202 PA
Dizon’s Pick: 17th round
MLB Comparison: Brendan Donovan, 2018 seventh-round pick by the St. Louis Cardinals out of South Alabama

AJ Salgado earned his start as a third baseman for Cal State LA, playing in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. He tore the cover off the ball with six triples, a .980 OPS and a team-leading .362 batting average.

Injuries limited Salgado to just 26 games during his inaugural season with UCLA in 2023, but the Glendora, California, local would play a full slate in 2024. An outfielder for the Bruins, Salgado notched a .784 OPS and .300 batting average across 202 plate appearances as a redshirt junior.

In the jump to the Pac-12, Salgado’s walk percentage was cut in half from 14.5% in the CCAA to 7.4% in 2024, but the outfielder maintained a relatively stable strikeout percentage of 17.6% in 2022.

Salgado’s frame – 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds – plus his contact-first approach and defensive versatility make him an attractive option for any Major League organization. Hitting just four homers across 74 games at UCLA, teams may see Salgado as having quite a bit of untapped potential in the power department.

His limited sample size at the Power Five level – playing just one full season – may restrict how high Salgado is taken in the draft, but the Glendora High School graduate looks every bit like someone who should be playing affiliated ball come the end of summer.