FORT WORTH - TCU baseball junior infielder Brayden Taylor was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays with the 19^th overall pick in the 2023 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Taylor is the first-ever position player in program history to be a first round draft pick and the fifth first rounder in program history.
 
A Baseball America third-team All-American and a first-team All-Big 12 performer, Taylor was instrumental in guiding TCU back to the College World Series this past season. In 67 games played, he hit .308 with 15 doubles, 23 home runs and a team-high 70 RBIs. In addition to tying the program's single season home run record, he also tied the school record with 77 runs scored. His 54 walks on the year are tied for the fifth-most in a single season. He boasted a .631 slugging percentage to go along with a .430 on-base percentage. Along the way he earned MVP honors at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship in addition to earning a spot on the NCAA Fayetteville All-Regional team. He was also named an ABCA first-team All-Central Region performer.
 
Taylor has put together a story book career in the Purple and White. He holds TCU's all-time career home run record with 48. His 186 runs scored are the fifth-most in TCU history, while his 173 RBIs are fourth-most and his 158 career walks are tied for second all-time. He is a career .315 hitter, playing in 184 games.
 
He joins Lance Broadway (15th overall to the Chicago White Sox in 2005), Andrew Cashner (19th overall to the Chicago Cubs in 2008), Brandon Finnegan (17^thoverall to Kansas City) and Nick Lodolo (7^th, Cincinnati in 2019) as the only first-round picks in TCU baseball history.
 
Since Kirk Saarloos' arrival on campus prior to the 2013 season, TCU has had 58 draft picks by 22 different organizations. TCU has produced 23 Top 10 round draft picks, including three first round selections, in Saarloos' tenure.