Jack Kartsonas did not hear his name called during the MLB Draft on Sunday or Monday, but, soon after, he was ready to put pen to paper.
The West Virginia pitcher and Fox Chapel native agreed to a free agent contract with the Tampa Bay Rays after the draft.
Kartsonas, who attended Vincentian Academy and is a graduate of University Prep in Pittsburgh, started his collegiate baseball career at John Carroll, making his way to Kent State next before his final destination of West Virginia as a grad student.
This past spring he went 6-4 with a 3.66 ERA with 77 strikeouts in 66 1/3 innings and 20 appearances in helping the Mountaineers reach the NCAA Super Regional before falling to eventual national champion LSU.
He was named to the All-Big 12 second team and ABCA All-East Region second team.
Kartsonas joins five fellow Mountaineers who were drafted by an MLB team this week: Logan Sauve (No. 200, Athletics), Kyle West (No. 404, Yankees), Robby Porco (No. 405, Dodgers), Griffin Kirn (No. 410, Athletics) and Skylar King (No. 448, Red Sox).
