Miami pitcher drafted by Angels in sixth round

The 6-foot-11 Olejnik was the 172nd player taken in the 2024 draft and the second player from an Ohio college picked. Cincinnati Bearcats catcher John Kross went to the St. Louis Cardinals one pick before Olejnik.

This is the third time in the last four years Miami has had a player drafted in the top 10 rounds.

• Pitcher Jonathan Brand was an eighth-round pick (No. 249 overall) of the Boston Red Sox in 2022.

• Pitcher Sam Bachman was a first-round pick (No. 9 overall) of the Angels in 2021. He made it to the big leagues in 2023.

This past season as a junior, Olejnik was 9-1 with a 4.76 ERA. He struck out 84 batters in 64 1/3 innings.

Olejnik is from Cedar Lake, Ind., and attended Hanover Central High School. He started his career at Triton College in River Grove, Ill., and then spent one season with the Oklahoma Sooners before transferring to Miami.

According to MLB Pipeline, Olejnik is the “same height as Jon Rauch and Sean Hjelle, the tallest pitchers in MLB history.”