Right-handed pitcher Dustin Hagens posted a 3.89 ERA and struck out 57 batters in 39 1/3 innings this spring. That got the attention of the New York Mets, who selected him in the 15th round of the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. (Photo by Patrick Clark/Athlete’s Eye Photography)
Former University of Missouri–St. Louis pitcher Dustin Hagens became the first Tritons player taken in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft in more than two decades when the New York Mets selected him the 15th round, with the 450th overall pick, on Sunday.
The last UMSL player drafted had been Joshua Morgan, whom the New York Yankees selected in the 27th round in 2005.
Hagens will be the third member of the 2026 team to begin a career in professional baseball, following Eli Cartwright and Mitch Bonczkowski, who signed with independent teams the Gateway Grizzlies and Schaumburg Boomers, respectively.
The 6-foot-1 right-hander from Fulton, Missouri, was a first team All-GLVC and second team All-Region selection for the Tritons in 2026. In 20 appearances he went 4-1 with a 3.89 earned run average with 57 strikeouts in 39 1/3 innings pitched and added six saves. Hagens held opposing hitters to a .218 batting average and pitched a season-high 4.2 innings against Indianapolis on April 17, when he fanned a season-high eight batters.
UMSL finished the 2026 season with a record of 34-22 including 24-8 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, won the program’s first GLVC title since 2003, made the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2003 and won the program’s first NCAA Tournament game since 1996.
