MENOMONIE, Wis. – Former UW-Stout baseball standout Charlie Szykowny was selected in the ninth round of the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft by the San Francisco Giants. He was the 270th pick overall.
Szykowny is the second Blue Devil to be drafted by MLB. Shortstop Joe Vavra was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the eighth round of the 1982 draft. As a Blue Devil, Szykowny earned All-America honors in 2022 when he broke three school records (home runs, RBI and triples) to go with the three he set in 2021 (at bats, runs scored and doubles).
"Charlie has worked his tail off every day since he stepped foot at Stout," Head Coach Ben Kincaid said. "He's the type of player every coach would want on the team. He's obviously a very talented player, but he's also an amazing leader and human being. He deserves this opportunity. It was a big day for him and his family. I couldn't be more excited to see him play at the next level for the Giants organization."
Szykowny finished his Blue Devil career with a .385 batting average (150-390) with 123 runs scored, 37 doubles, 10 triples, 22 home runs with 96 RBI for a slugging percentage of .700. On the Stout all-time list, Szykowny is sixth for batting average, seventh for runs scored, second for doubles, tied for first on triples, eight for home runs, 17th for RBIs and fourth for slugging percentage.
In the field,Szykowny finished with a career fielding percentage of .930. He helped turn 48 double plays throughout his career, including 28 in 2021 when Stout led the NCAA Division III.
Szykowny was a two-time All-WIAC first team selection and was a finalist for the 2022 player of the year. He garnered first team All-Region 9 honors by both D3baseball.com and ABCA/Rawlings in 2022 and was a third team All-Region 9 selection by AVCA Rawlings in 2021.
After graduation, Szykowny transferred to NCAA Division I Illinois-Chicago where he was named 2023 MVC Newcomer of the Year and Midwest All-Region Second Team. He hit .335 for the season and ranked among the top five in the MVC with 55 RBI and 16 home runs. He led the team in batting average, runs scored, hits, triples, home runs, RBI and slugging percentage.
