WS Chronicle

By David Winship

In the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft, three Wake Forest Deacons were chosen in the first round. For the second straight year, the Wake Forest baseball program had at least two players selected in the first round of the MLB Draft.

Chase Burns (2nd overall to the Cincinnati Reds), Nick Kurtz (4th overall to the Oakland Athletics) and Seaver King (10th to the Washington Nationals) became just the second set of teammates all-time to go in the top 10 of the first round in MLB Draft history.

Chase Burns, right-handed pitcher from Hendersonville, Tennessee, transferred this season from the University of Tennessee. In his lone season with Wake Forest, Burns was selected as a Dick Howser Trophy Finalist and a Golden Spikes semifinalist, while being named the ACC Pitcher of the Year. He was named a First Team All-American by D1 Baseball, Perfect Game, Baseball America, ABCA, and NCBWA. He was also First Team All-ACC Tournament and First Team All-Region. 

He started 16 games and broke the Wake Forest single-season strikeout record, fanning a nation-leading 191 batters across 100 innings of work. Burns finished the season with a 10-1 record and a 2.70 ERA while holding opposing batters to a .175 batting average. He owns nine spots in Top-10 for most strikeouts in a single game in program history, including 12 games with double-digit strikeouts.

He became the first ACC pitcher to be named ACC Pitcher of the Week in three consecutive weeks since 2000. He recorded 57 strikeouts and 0.34 ERA across a dominant month of May and became one of two pitchers in ACC history to be named ACC Pitcher of the Week six times in a season after striking out 13 against N.C. State.

Nick Kurtz, first baseman from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, earned Second-Team All-American honors by D1 Baseball and Perfect Game. He was named First Team All-ACC and All-Region. He was also selected to the ACC All-Tournament Team and named a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy and the Golden Spikes, in addition to a Third Team All-American selection by the ABCA and the NCBWA.

He served as a team captain and started in 54 games. Kurtz led the country in walks (78), broke the single-season (78) and career records for walks (189) in program history and had 19 multi-walk performances. He also led the team in home runs (22) and on-base percentage (.531) while also holding a .306 batting average.

Kurtz hit his 59th career home run against Clemson (May 11) to move into second all-time in program history for career home runs, passing Jamie D’Antona (2001-03).

Seaver King, third baseman and outfielder from Athens, Georgia, was selected to the All-ACC Third Team and named a Dick Howser Trophy Semifinalist in his lone season with Wake Forest. He was one of three Demon Deacons to start all 60 games and led the team in hits (78) and ranked second on the team in RBIs (64) and runs (59). Additionally, he notched 16 home runs and finished the season with a .308/.377/.577 slash line. 

He recorded a hit in 48 games and notched 24 multi-hit performances. He successfully reached base in 31 straight games (April 2-May 25) while also posting an 11-game hit streak (April 6-23) and 16-game hit streak (April 27-May 24).

“I couldn’t be more proud of Chase Burns, Nick Kurtz and Seaver King,” head coach Tom Walter said. “Today was the culmination of a lot of hard work and sacrifice. These guys have helped transform Wake baseball into a destination program and a program known for player development. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for these transformational Deacs.”

David Winship lives in Bristol, Tennessee, where he had an early baseball career in Little League, managed the Bristol, Tennessee High School 1967 State Championship baseball team, and will be inducted into the Tennessee High School Athletic Hall of Fame in September 2024. He is a member of Winston-Salem Writers.