Jul. 15—The 2023 Major League Baseball Draft recently concluded, and three former local pitching stars were selected.
Recent Weatherford High School graduate Kannon Kemp, the Roos’ ace committed to the University of Oklahoma, was selected by the San Diego Padres in the eighth round — 251st overall, while former Weatherford College Coyote pitchers Paul Bonzagni (Texas Rangers) and Kade Bragg ( Minnesota Twins) were picked in the 12th and 17th rounds, respectively.
Kemp, who recently earned All-Parker County Baseball MVP honors, will have to decide if he will stick with his commitment to the Sooners or not as he comes off arguably his best high school season. Kemp led the Kangaroos to its best season since 1981 as he was dominant on the mound, highlighted by a fastball that touched 96 miles per hour.
In his senior campaign, Kemp helped lead Weatherford to a school record-tying 32 wins, a district championship and guided the Roos to the Regional Semifinals, where they bowed out to eventual Class 6A state champion Flower Mound in three games. Kemp finished the year with a 0.99 ERA, .165 opposing batting average and 125 strikeouts across 84.2 innings. Over the course of his career, Kemp was 8-0 as a starting pitcher for the Kangaroos during postseason play.
Meanwhile, Bonzagni — currently a student-athlete at Southern Illinois University — could potentially play professionally in his home state after being selected by the Texas Rangers. Bonzagni, who played high school ball for the Southlake Carroll Dragons, performed well for Southern Illinois as he was named an All-Missouri Valley Conference honoree in the 2023 season. This past season, Bonzagni went 8-4 with a 4.94 ERA out of the bullpen and tied the conference lead in appearances with 13.
The third home-grown talent selected in the draft was Bragg, who was named NCAA Division II Pitcher of the Year for his season at San Angelo State. Bragg, who played for the Coyotes for a year before joining San Angelo’s baseball program, led the nation in victories with a 15-1 record, which set a record for wins in a season in the Lone Star Conference. The Ennis native ended the year with a 1.20 ERA across 104.2 innings pitched to help secure his selection to the Twins.
To date, 45 current or former Weatherford College players have been drafted since the program began in 2003 while Kemp is the 18th player drafted from Weatherford High School.
Crystal Woerly of Weatherford College contributed to this report.