University of Toledo infielder Jeron Williams was selected by the Houston Astros in the ninth round of the MLB Draft on Monday.
The 2023 MAC Player of the Year and a Collegiate Baseball All-American, Williams is the 50th player in program history to be selected in the MLB Draft. His selection marks the third straight year a Rocket has been drafted after Kyle Jones and Connor Brandon were picked in 2022 and Chris Meyers was drafted in 2021. The last time Toledo saw players drafted in three straight years was 2010-12.
University of Toledo infielder Jeron Williams was selected by the Houston Astros in the ninth round of the MLB Draft on Monday. Williams is the 2023 MAC Player of the Year and a Collegiate Baseball All-American.
Williams recently capped one of the best offensive seasons by a Rocket in program history. He started all 55 games at shortstop and hit .403 with 14 home runs, 48 RBIs, 67 runs scored, 16 doubles, four triples, a .681 slugging percentage, .467 on-base percentage and an incredible 49 stolen bases.
Williams led all of NCAA Division I in stolen bases, tallying seven more than the next-highest-ranking player. The Archbold native shattered the program’s single-season stolen base record and was one away from tying the MAC single-season record for stolen bases. Williams’ 162 total bases accrued in 2023 are a new school record, and he was the first Rocket to hit .400 in a season since Mitch Maier, a former MLB First-Round Draft Pick, did so in 2003.
“We are really excited that Jeron was drafted in the ninth round by the Houston Astros,” head coach Rob Reinstetle said. “He deserves this opportunity and has worked really hard to get to this point. We only had him for two seasons, but he was fantastic for us. The season he had this year will go down as one the best ever in the history of the program. To lead the country in stolen bases is an amazing feat, topped off with his MAC Player of the Year recognition.
“Jeron has such a dynamic skill set and I have no doubt in my mind he will have a successful career at the next level. He is one of the most talented players I have ever had the honor of coaching. This makes it three years in a row that our program has produced a high-level draft pick. That shows that we are recruiting at a high level and developing our players once we get them here to Toledo.”
In MAC play this past season, Williams hit .435 with nine home runs, 30 RBIs, 41 runs scored, a .771 slugging percentage, .493 on-base percentage and 26 stolen bases, leading Toledo in every category. A consistent threat to get on base every time he stepped in the box, Williams started the year with a 33-game hitting streak, eight games of which carried over from 2022, and finished the year on a 21-game hitting streak.
Williams will join former Rocket and 2018 draft pick Ross Adolph in the Astros’ organization. Adolph is currently on the Sugar Land Space Cowboys’ roster, the Astros’ Triple-A affiliate.
