NC State third baseman Gino Groover selected by Arizona Diamondbacks in 2023 MLB Draft

NC State third baseman Gino Groover, also known as LuJames Groover III, is off the board in the 2023 MLB Draft. The Arizona Diamondbacks selected him with the No. 48 overall selection.

Groover just completed his junior season at NC State, hitting .332 with eight doubles, 13 home runs and 50 RBIs. The Georgia native started all 57 games and was named third-team All-ACC.

Gino Groover also had an excellent sophomore season with the Wolfpack, hitting .364 with 10 home runs. Groover was named second-team All-ACC in 2022.

While he finished his career at NC State, Groover started off playing college baseball at Charlotte. He hit .351 with four home runs and 38 RBIs as a freshman for the 49ers, before entering the transfer portal. He earned Conference USA All-Freshman team honors that season.

More on the 2023 MLB Draft

The 2023 Major League Baseball Draft will begin during All-Star week, with the first two rounds getting underway at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 9. Rounds 3-10 will then begin at 2 p.m. ET on Monday, July 10, with rounds 11-20 starting at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 11.

This year’s MLB Draft is a historic one, as a draft lottery was used to determine the order for the first time. The Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Oakland Athletics each had a 16.5% chance to receive the No. 1 overall pick. Ultimately, Pittsburgh won the right to have the first selection, with Washington finishing right behind them at No. 2. Oakland, however, fell all the way down to No. 6 overall.

While the MLB Draft is always unpredictable, the consensus is that this year’s top prospects both hail from LSU, who won the 2023 College World Series. Pitcher Paul Skenes and outfielder Dylan Crews headline this year’s class, which is considered a deep one.

Within the first ten rounds of the draft, each slot is assigned a certain value. Each team has a bonus pool that they are able to spend on these picks, and players will sign at, above or below their assigned slot value.

In rounds 11-20, there is no assigned slot value and MLB teams are free to spend up to $150,000 to sign their picks from the second half of the draft. If they exceed the $150,000 mark, that added amount will be deducted from their bonus pool.

Following the final day of the 2023 MLB Draft, selected players will have until August 1 to sign a contract.