Unsigned 2018 BA 500 Players Headed To College

The signing deadline for the draft passed last Friday and we now officially can see which top high school players are headed to college in the fall.

Below is a chart of all the high school players who ranked in the BA 500 who did not sign pro contracts, sorted by their rank. 

Georgia prep righthander Carter Stewart, who was No. 9 on the BA 500, was the highest ranked player not to sign. He was drafted eighth overall by the Braves, but after a post-draft physical revealed an injury they were not able to come to an agreement. He is committed to Mississippi State and while there are rumblings that he may look at the option of going to junior college, which would allow him next year to reenter the draft, nothing has been decided.

If Stewart does end up in Starkville, he will join two-way standout J.T. Ginn (No. 39) as the headliners in what would be one of Mississippi State’s best recruiting classes ever. Ginn also was drafted in the first round but turned down the opportunity to sign with the Dodgers to uphold his commitment to Mississippi State.

For the third straight year, the top position player not to sign is a Florida prep infielder. Nander De Sedas (No. 28) is this year’s Sunshine State shortstop that turned down pro ball to play at college, following the same path as Drew Mendoza (Florida State) and Brady McConnell (Florida). De Sedas will now join Mendoza in Tallahassee, where they will be expected to form an exciting left side of the infield.

Louisiana State leads all schools with eight players from the BA 500 in its incoming freshman class. Florida State, Louisville, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt all bring in six.

Overall, 133 high school players in the BA 500 did not sign pro contracts, three less than last year. Of those players, 44 are committed to schools in the Southeastern Conference, accounting for 33 percent of the unsigned BA 500 recruits. Atlantic Coast Conference schools will take in 31 unsigned BA 500 recruits, and the Pac-12 Conference will get 20.

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