Coastal’s Zach McCambley picked by Miami in third round of MLB Draft

CONWAY, S.C. – Coastal Carolina baseball’s Zach McCambley was selected by the Miami Marlins as the 75th pick overall in the third round of the 2020 Major League Baseball draft on Thursday.

With the pick, McCambley becomes the 14th Chanticleer to be taken in the first five rounds of the annual MLB draft and the first since Michael Paez was taken in the fourth round by the New York Mets in 2016.

He is also just the seventh Chant to be selected in the top three rounds of the draft and the highest pick since Jacob May went in the third round as the 91st pick to the Chicago White Sox in 2013.

With his selection as the 75th pick overall, he is the fifth-highest pick in Coastal Carolina history (Mickey Brantley – 35th, Kirt Manwaring – 35th, Anthony Meo – 63rd, and Mike Costanzo – 65th).

As the Chants’ Friday night starter in 2020, McCambley was 3-1 with a 1.80 ERA, which included three quality starts on the mound. He threw 25.0 innings over four starts, striking out 32 batters, walking seven, and allowing just five earned runs. He held his opponents to a .208 batting average on the season, struck out six batters or more in each contest, and matched his career-high with 10 punch-outs versus Saint Joseph’s on Feb. 21.

Over his three years at Coastal Carolina, McCambley went from the bullpen to the ace of the rotation. He posted a 12-4 overall record with one save and a 3.89 ERA over 44 appearances, including 22 starts. He fanned 158 batters over 141 innings while allowing just 59 walks, a 2.7-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He recorded five quality starts and over his 22 starts, the Chants posted a 16-6 record overall.