Stewart Johnson
Another former Carroll athlete has made it to the big leagues.
Owen Proksch, who was part of the state championship-winning baseball team at Carroll in 2022, was selected by the Texas Rangers in the ninth round, pick no. 265, of the 2025 Major League Baseball draft Monday afternoon. The slot value designated for a ninth round selection is just over $205,000, according to league sources.
Proksch played collegiate baseball at Duke, pitching out of the bullpen during his freshman and sophomore seasons. He joined the Blue Devils' starting rotation in 2025 and took off, starting 12 of 19 games and amassing a 4.68 earned run average. Batters hit only .224 against him in his final year at Duke.
The former Dragon brings positional flexibility to the Rangers' farm system, with extensive relief and starting experience under his belt. Time will tell which role he carves out for himself in the minor leagues.
Baseball writer Keith Law of The Athletic said Proksch has "a lower [arm] slot and gives hitters a long look at the ball; his changeup is his best pitch, and his slider might be a [good big league pitch]."
Including Proksch, the Rangers used 14 of their first 20 selections on pitchers. The squad's fifth-round selection, left-hander Ben Abeldt from TCU, graduated from McKinney Boyd.