UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State baseball senior pitcher Conor Larkin was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the ninth round of the 2021 MLB Draft on Monday, going 272nd overall. The MLB Draft continues with rounds 11-20 on Tuesday, beginning at noon with coverage on MLB.com.
Larkin became the 73rd player to be selected out of Penn State and the 44th pitcher. Larkin is the ninth Penn State pitcher to be selected among the top 10 rounds of the draft, joining Dante Biasi (6th; 2019), Joe Kurrasch (8th; 2012), Drew O'Neil (4th; 2008), Nate Bump (1st; 1998), Joel Johnston (3rd; 1988), Steve Nielsen (8th; 1976), Mitch Lukevics (2nd; 1975) and John Maier (5th, 1974). Larkin is the seventh Penn State player to be selected by the Blue Jays. The last was Ryan Sloniger (38th; 2019).
The Royersford, Pa. native is the eighth Nittany Lion selected under Head Coach Rob Cooper's tenure and the sixth pitcher, joining Dante Biasi (6th; 2019), Eric Mock (25th; 2019), Justin Hagenman (23rd; 2018), Sal Biasi (11th; 2017) and Jack Anderson (23rd; 2016). Larkin is the 15th overall draft pick coached by Cooper.
"We are extremely excited for Conor to get the opportunity to chase his professional dream," said Cooper. "His competitiveness and work ethic, combined with his strong stuff, will serve him well as he climbs the ladder of professional baseball."
Larkin has made 50 appearances and 23 starts for Penn State. Larkin has recorded nine wins as a Nittany Lion and collected 191 strikeouts in 171 innings. As a senior, Larkin earned three wins and fanned 69 batters in 63.2 innings. Larkin earned his degree in management in May after being a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree.
The Pennsylvania native struck out seven or more batters in six starts in 2021. Larkin had two impressive starts against Rutgers this past season. He threw six shutout innings and struck out seven on April 3 and allowed one run in 6.2 innings on May 15. Larkin went seven innings, giving up two runs, and striking out six in a win over Michigan State.
In 2020, Larkin ranked sixth in the Big Ten, and led the team, with a 1.69 ERA and struck out 28 in 21.1 innings over four starts. He had a career-best 10 strikeouts and allowed one run over 6.2 innings against Fairleigh Dickinson (3/8/20). In 2019, Larkin struck out 10 over six innings against Ohio State.
Among incoming Nittany Lions, Lonnie White Jr. was selected 64th overall, in the Competitive Balance B Round, between the second and third rounds, by the Pittsburgh Pirates. White is an outfielder who played his high school ball at Malvern Prep. White is signed with the Penn State football team as a wide receiver.
The Nittany Lions finished the 2021 season with 18 wins, playing against exclusively Big Ten opponents. The wins included a 3-2 victory over No. 18 Michigan on March 26 and a series sweep over Michigan State in which Penn State out-scored the Spartans, 39-13. Penn State scored 10 or more runs in six games, the blue and white's most against Big Ten opponents since 2008 (8) and the most in a season since 2016.
Penn State led the Big Ten in doubles (93) and doubles per game (2.21), ranking 11th in the country in doubles per game. The Nittany Lions sat third in the conference in batting average (.269). Penn State hit 34 home runs, its most since 2012, and had five players with four or more homers.
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