Cherokee Nation citizen and Oklahoma State Cowboy Carson Benge saw his dream come true when the New York Mets selected him with the 19th pick in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft.
The redshirt sophomore was a two-way star for the Cowboys in 2024. Over the course of 61 games, he posted a .335 batting average with 18 home runs and 64 RBIs. He also threw a total of 37 innings and ended the year with a 3-2 win-loss record and a 3.16 ERA. Benge was a semifinalist for the 2024 Dick Howser Trophy, given annually to college baseball’s best player, and for the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award.
Benge arrived at Stillwater after a successful prep career at Yukon High School. As a high school senior in 2021, he had an 8-1 record on the mound and batted .409. Benge did not appear in a game his first year at OSU due to undergoing Tommy John surgery. In his first collegiate season in 2023, Benge batted .345 with seven home runs and 43 RBIs.
During the MLB draft night broadcast, Benge was compared to former MLB player Nick Markakis who won multiple Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards during his career.
In a video posted by SNY on YouTube after the draft, Benge spoke about being drafted by the Mets.
“Being able to come to the Mets was one of my top teams that I really wanted to go to, so being able to do that is definitely really cool for me,” Benge said.
Benge will begin his minor league career this summer and will look to add his name to a long list of Cherokee Nation citizens who have left their mark on Major League Baseball, including the premiere closer in the game currently, St. Louis Cardinal Ryan Helsley.
Other Cherokee Nation citizens who have experienced recent success in MLB include World Series champion Jon Gray, Dylan Bundy and Adrian Houser.
This article was first published by the Cherokee Phoenix.