LSU sophomore infielder Jacob Berry was selected exactly where many mock drafts had him, going 6th overall to the Miami Marlins Sunday night in the 2022 MLB Draft. With the selection Berry became the 20^th first-round selection in LSU history.  

Berry is LSU’s highest overall selection since 2015, when infielder Alex Bregman was chosen No. 2 overall by the Houston Astros. Berry is LSU’s first 1^st-round selection since 2017, when right-handed pitcher Alex Lange was the No. 30 overall selection by the Chicago Cubs.

Many believed Berry to be in the conversation for the first overall selection during the midway point of this season, but a hand injury and skepticism over his defensive prowess began to slide him down draft boards. But his bat superceded it all as evident by the selection by Miami.  Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello described Berry as a "cage rat" for his relentless work ethic on MLB Network Sunday night. 

Berry, a product of Queen Creek, Ariz., is the seventh LSU player to be selected within the first 10 picks of the draft. He was a 2022 Golden Spikes Award semifinalist, a second-team All-America performer and second-team All-SEC selection as he batted a team-high .370 with nine doubles, 15 homers, 48 RBI and 47 runs. 

Berry hit a conference-best .400 (38-for-95) in LSU’s SEC regular-season games with three doubles, five homers, 20 RBI and 18 runs. 

He was named a Collegiate Baseball newspaper National Player of the Week on March 14 after he paced LSU to four wins in four games during the week of March 9-13. Berry batted .500 (9-for-18) in four games with one double, three homers, seven RBI and seven runs. 

Berry played his freshman season at Arizona, where he earned 2021 National Freshman of the Year recognition while batting .352 with 54 runs scored, 19 doubles, five triples, 17 home runs and 70 RBI.

LSU recruits also with a strong presence in the draft. Outfielder Justin Crawford, son of former major league outfielder Carl Crawford, was taken 17th overall by the Phillies, Mikey Romero 24th overall by the Red Sox and lefty Robby Snelling 39th overall by the Padres.