Virginia Tech’s Gavin Cross taken with the ninth pick in 2022 MLB Draft

Virginia Tech outfielder Gavin Cross was taken with the ninth pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, becoming the highest selection in Virginia Tech school history in the process.

Cross performed at his best when facing top competition in 2022, hitting 12 of his 17 home runs against Power Five opposition. The All-ACC First Team outfielder ranked among the top 25 NCAA Division I players in runs per game (70 runs, 1.23 per game), pairing his .328 batting average with 14 doubles, eight triples (tied for the second most nationally), his 12-for-12 mark in stolen bases and his .660 slugging percentage.

Cross joins Franklin Stubbs (1982), Brad DuVall (1987, 1988), Denny Wagner (1997) and Joe Saunders (2002) as Virginia Tech first-round draftees.

The second Virginia Tech selection of the night went No. 68 overall in the competitive balance phase of round two as the Minnesota Twins chose shortstop Tanner Schobel.

Schobel racked up 74 RBI from the third spot in Tech’s batting order, pacing the Hokies in both home runs (19) and slugging percentage (.689). Among his 85 hits, the five-foot-10 middle infielder yielded 18 doubles while defensively playing a role in all but six of the team’s 42 double plays.

Schobel was tabbed one of six national finalists for the 2022 Brooks Wallace Award (presented annually to the nation’s best collegiate shortstop), was named a national semifinalist for both the Golden Spikes Award and the Dick Howser Trophy, collected All-ACC First Team honors and garnered distinction on the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper All-America Third Team.