Dean Curley signs over-slot deal with Cleveland Guardians

Tennessee sophomore infielder Dean Curley was selected in the second round of the 2025 Major League Baseball Draft by the Cleveland Guardians with the No. 64 overall pick. The slot value assigned to the pick is $1,382,300 and the infielder signed over-slot on Saturday at $1,773,905, per Jim Callis of MLB.com.

Dean Curley signs w/@CleGuardians for $1,773,905 (slot 64 value = $1,382,300). @Vol_Baseball SS, only freshman in 2024 College World Series championship lineup, at least solid raw power, one of the strongest arms in college crop, high baseball IQ. @MLBDraft pic.twitter.com/bi9mdGmG3a

— Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) July 26, 2025

Cannon Peebles, who was selected in the 17th round by the Guardians, remains unsigned. The signing deadline for players drafted is 5 p.m. on Monday.

The 6-foot-3, 220-pounder from La Verne, Calif. was an immediate contributor for the Vols in 2024 as a true freshman, starting as the everyday shortstop for the national champion squad. Curley began the 2025 season as Tennessee’s starting shortstop before shifting over to the keystone for the final stretch of the year at second base. Curley also logged action at third base and saw limited action at first base throughout his two years in Knoxville.

Curley hit for a .285 average with 12 home runs and 50 runs batted in as a rookie in 2024 before registering a .315 clip with 14 homers and 51 RBI a year later as a sophomore. The slugger cut down on strikeouts with just 47 over 241 at-bats as a sophomore and also upped his walk total by 14, up to 45 free passes. The infielder’s on-base percentage jumped from .386 to .435 as well, stealing a combined 17 bases for the Vols in two seasons.

Following the end of the national championship season, the rookie shortstop was named a two-time All-American and was a USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Participant last summer. Curley was slated as the no. 60 draft prospect by MLB Pipeline and No. 39 from Baseball America ahead of draft weekend.

“I love Dean and and I think Dean shouldered more weight than any player in the country this year and played well doing that,” Tony Vitello said following Curley’s selection while providing analysis on the MLB Network.

Tennessee in the 2025 MLB Draft

Round 1 (No. 5 overall) Liam Doyle – Cardinals*
Round 1 (No. 9 overall) Steele Hall (signee) – Reds*
Round 1 (No. 10 overall) Billy Carlson (signee) – White Sox*
Round 1 (No. 13 overall) Gavin Kilen – Giants*
Round 1 (No. 20 overall) Andrew Fischer – Brewers*
Round 1 (No. 25 overall) Kruz Schoolcraft (signee) – Padres*
Round 1 (No. 33 overall) Marcus Phillips – Red Sox*
Round 2 (No. 52 overall) AJ Russell – Rangers*
Round 2 (No. 64 overall) Dean Curley – Guardians*
Round 2 (No. 72 overall) Tanner Franklin – Cardinals*
Round 3 (No. 105 overall) Nate Snead – Angels*
Round 5 (No. 149 overall) Matt Barr (JUCO) – Twins*
Round 7 (No. 225 overall) Mason Estrada (portal) – Dodgers*
Round 14 (No. 430 overall) Clay Edmondson (portal) – Padres*
Round 15 (No. 456 overall) DJ Newman (portal) – Astros*
Round 17 (No. 522 overall) Cannon Peebles – Guardians*
Round 18 (No. 534 overall) Ethan Moore (signee) – Reds
Round 19 (No. 572 overall) Cameron Appenzeller (signee) – Mariners