WVU Potomac State alum Alexander Meckley was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 12th round of the MLB Draft on Tuesday.
Meckley, who played last year at Coastal Carolina, was taken 350th overall.
The right-hander struggled in his first year in Conway, South Carolina, posting a 7.52 ERA with a 4-4 record. He struck out 57 and walked 27 in 52 2/3 innings of work.
However, scouts were attracted to Meckley's velocity and movement. He reportedly possesses a fastball that maxes out at 98 miles per hour.
In his second year at Potomac State, Meckley went 2-3 with a 2.96 ERA, striking out 73 and walking 17 in 45 2/3 innings to earn All-Region 20 honors and was a Juco All-American.
Meckley briefly got to play for a Potomac State alum at Coastal Carolina after Kevin Schnall was hired as the program's sixth head coach in June.
Schnall played two seasons at Potomac State from 1996-97 and was an All-Region 20 selection in both seasons.
Meckley is the second Potomac State player drafted in the last three seasons, as left-hander Brandon Schaeffer was selected out of the University of North Carolina in the 18th round (546 overall) by the Seattle Mariners.
Schaeffer has spent time between Low-A and High-A. Last year, he had a 10-9 record and 4.29 ERA in 134 1/3 innings in his first professional season.
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Meckley threw just 17.1 innings during his high school baseball career at Gettysburg, (Pa.), but it wasn't because of his ability.
Meckley, like every other athlete in high school at the time, didn't get to play in the spring of 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Then, as a senior the following season, injuries limited his time on the hill to just 11 frames. All told, he struck out 29 hitters and walked 10 in 17.1 innings on a high school mound while allowing five earned runs and 11 hits.
"Xander is one of the many kids that was affected by losing a year to Covid," former Gettysburg Head Coach Ryan Brady said. "He played JV ball as a freshman and then was our starting second baseman in 2019 when we made the district title game. His junior season was the Covid year. Then, as a senior, he began the year with an arm issue. We were careful with him, and he missed the first month of the season on the mound."
Despite only throwing a limited number of high school innings, Meckley got a shot to pitch in college at Potomac State College. He did well enough to parlay that into an opportunity to pitch at Coastal Carolina University this past spring.
"I played travel ball in high school and through that, I got noticed," Meckley said. "I felt going the juco route was the best route for me. That helped me to get my feet wet in college and I had a pretty decent freshman year. That exposure helped me to get noticed by Coastal and I took off the following fall."
On July 16, the Washington Nationals called his name in the 12th round of the 2024 Major League Baseball draft, using the 350th pick to scoop up the righty hurler.
Meckley signed a contract with the Nationals this past Monday and is currently in West Palm Beach, Florida at the team's spring training facility working out.
"They're trying to get us used to being professional baseball players here," Meckley said. "Right now, we're working out at the training facility, and I may get assigned some innings in Low-A or High-A or may just stay here at the training facility for the rest of the season."
The Nationals' Low-A affiliate is in Fredericksburg, Virginia in the Carolina League, while the High-A team is in Wilmington, Delaware in the South Atlantic League. The next step after that is Double-A ball, which is in Harrisburg, in the Eastern League.
Meckley's freshman season at Potomac State saw him post a 5.62 ERA with 56 strikeouts in 41.2 innings. Those numbers improved to 73 strikeouts in 45.2 innings with a 2.96 ERA as a sophomore.
"I had a big jump in velocity going into my sophomore year and things really took off," Meckley said. "I had a really good season as a sophomore and thought about entering the draft but decided to go to Coastal."
Meckley consistently sits at 93-95 miles-per-high with his fastball, going up to 97 or 98 at times, and mixes in a sinker, curveball, slider and change-up.
Coastal Carolina is located in Conway, S.C., about 15 miles west of Myrtle Beach, but academics and time commitments to the baseball team kept Meckley from indulging in beach life.
"It was exciting to go to school at Coastal and I really enjoyed my time there," he said. "But you don't really have much time to go to the beach."
This past spring, Meckley appeared in 21 games, starting nine of them. He pitched to a 7.52 ERA with 57 strikeouts in 52.2 innings.
With experience both starting and relieving, Meckley isn't sure what course the Nationals will chart for him moving forward.
"I'll have a better idea of whether I will start or relieve here in a few weeks," he said. "I really don't have a preference, I'll do either."
As for his immediate future, Meckley said, "Nothing has really surprised me yet. I'm just keeping my eyes and ears open and trying to learn as much as I can about being a professional player."