3 OSU Buckeyes selected in 2023 MLB Draft

Three members of the Ohio State Buckeyes baseball team were selected this month in the 2023 MLB Draft.

Ohio State baseball southpaw Isaiah Coupet was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the fourth round of the 2023 MLB Draft. Coupet was the 109th overall pick.

Coupet is the 115th student-athlete from the Ohio State baseball program to be drafted, dating back to 1966, and is the Buckeyes’ highest draft pick since Dillon Dingler, who was selected with the first pick in the second round of the 2020 MLB Draft.

Coupet is the sixth player from Ohio State to be drafted by Colorado and will join fellow Buckeye Ryan Feltner, who was drafted by Colorado in 2018, in the Rockies’ organization.

Despite battling an injury for a good chunk of the season, Coupet had a strong 2023. He compiled a 4-3 record and fanned 72 in 50.2 innings pitched. He made 11 appearances on the mound, with 10 starts, and help opponents to a .218 batting average. Coupet finished the season with a career-best 3.55 ERA.

In 2022, Coupet recorded a career-high 98 strikeouts in 64.2 innings pitched. He made 13 appearances on the season, all starts, and held opponents to an impressive .197 average. He finished the season 5-5 overall with a 5.85 ERA.

As a freshman in 2021, Coupet made nine appearances for the Buckeyes, including his first career start. He fanned 29 in just 17.1 innings tossed and recorded one save.

Coupet finishes his three-year career for the Buckeyes with a 9-11 record and a 4.68 ERA. He tossed 132.2 innings for the Scarlet and Gray, striking out 199 batters and holding opponents to a .211 batting average.

Ohio State baseball pitcher Josh Timmerman was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 16th round of the 2023 MLB Draft with the 482nd overall pick, and outfielder Kade Kern was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 17th round with the 519th pick.

Timmerman becomes the 116th overall draft pick and Kern, the 117th, dating back to 1966, from the Ohio State baseball program. Timmerman is just the second Buckeye in program history to be drafted by the Brewers (Eric Fryer, ’07), and Kern is the third Buckeye (Blase Sparma, ’91 & Doug Wollenberg, ’92) to be selected by the Braves.

In his lone season with the Buckeyes, Timmerman went 2-2 overall, making 13 appearances on the mound and six starts after battling an injury for the majority of the season. Timmerman tossed 26.2 innings and struck out 36 batters.

Timmerman joined the Buckeyes following two seasons at Wabash Valley Community College, where he had a standout career. In 2022, he compiled an 8-1 record and fanned 85 in 68.2 innings pitched. He averaged 11.14 strikeouts per nine innings and finished the 2022 season with an ERA of 3.41 and helped his team to the third round of the JUCO World Series.

Kern had a strong three years with the Buckeyes. This past season, Kern batted .283 with 38 runs scored, 47 hits, 11 doubles, one triple, six home runs and 22 RBIs. He went 16-for-19 in stolen bases.

Kern was an All-Big Ten Third Team selection in 2022 after batting .301 with 58 hits, nine homers and 49 RBIs, while going 11-for-13 in steals. He had an impressive rookie campaign in 2021. Kern played and started in 42 games and batted .325.

He had 52 hits and 30 RBIs and was 9-for-11 in stolen bases. He was named to both the All-Big Ten Second Team and the Big Ten All-Freshman Team and was also honored as a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.

Kern finishes his career with a .303 batting average through 136 games. He recorded 89 runs scored, 157 hits, 36 doubles, three triples, 17 home runs and 101 RBIs. He went 36-for-43 in stolen bases.