DENVER, Colo. --- With the 224th pick in the 2021 Major League Baseball Draft, the Texas Rangers select Larson Kindriech, a left-handed pitcher out of Biola University in La Mirada, California. 

For any baseball player it's a dream come true to hear your name on draft day. Larson is thrilled to have the opportunity to play at the next level as he enters the professional baseball ranks. 

"I'm excited to make the most of my opportunity with the Rangers," said Kindreich. "I'm honored and excited to be a part of their organization and I cannot wait to see what role I can play in the organization."

With the selection, Kindreich becomes only the second Eagle since 2011 to be selected in the MLB draft directly out of Biola's program and is the fifth highest selection in the history of the program. Kindreich is the 22nd Biola alum to be drafted by a Major League Baseball team.
 

Michael Nichols	Kansas City Royals	Round 1	15 overall	1969
Todd Worrell	St. Louis Cardinals	Round 1	21 overall	1983
Reid Hamblet	Baltimore Orioles	Round 5	153 overall	2005
Ted Milner	St. Louis Cardinals	Round 7	182 overall	1983
Larson Kindreich	Texas Rangers	Round 8	224 overall	2021

"When I got the call I was extremely excited because there had been many ups and downs over the past round or two and finally getting that confirmation was what I had been hoping for," said Kindreich. "To finally see my name on the draft tracker was a really cool experience."

Kindreich pitched three seasons for the Eagles, with his most impressive being his 2020 campaign where he did not allow an earned run in 30 innings pitched before the season was cut short after just 14 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In 136.2 innings at Biola, Kindreich was 11-5 with a 4.02 career ERA while striking out 199 batters. Hitters only mustered a .204 average against the lefty and struck out 199 times. 

In his final season as an Eagle, Kindreich tied his collegiate best of 15 strikeouts against Concordia while pitching seven innings and earning the win. He earned PacWest Pitcher of the Week honors twice while being named to the All-PacWest First Team, D2CCA All-West Region First Team,  ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division II West All-Region First Team and NCBWA All-Region Second Team. 

Kindreich became the first player selected in the MLB Draft from Biola under Head Coach Jeff Calhoon and the 14th MLB draft pick produced during Calhoon's young career. Kindreich joins seven other Biola Baseball alumni to be drafted in the first ten rounds of the Major League Baseball draft: 
 

Michael Nichols	Kansas City Royals	Round 1	15 overall	1969
Todd Worrell	St. Louis Cardinals	Round 1	21 overall	1983
Josh Staumont (Drafted out of APU)	Kansas City Royals	Round 2	64 overall	2015
Reid Hamblet	Baltimore Orioles	Round 5	153 overall	2005
Ted Milner	St. Louis Cardinals	Round 7	182 overall	1983
Trevor Oaks (Drafted out of CBU)	Los Angeles Dodgers	Round 7	219 overall	2014
Larson Kindreich	Texas Rangers	Round 8	224 overall	2021
Sam Orr	Philadelphia Phillies	Round 8	242 overall	2004

Of the eight players above, three players have reached the major leagues. Worrell played 11 years in the big-leagues, splitting time between the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers, Oaks made his MLB debut with the Kansas City Royals in 2018 while Staumont debuted in 2019, also with Kansas City, and is the only active Biola alum in the Major Leagues as a member of the Kansas City Royals bullpen.