ARLINGTON, Texas – Rutgers left-handed pitcher Donovan Zsak was selected by the Cleveland Guardians with the 235th overall pick in the eighth round of the 2024 MLB Draft on Monday.

Zsak is the second Scarlet Knight to be selected in the draft, joining shortstop Josh Kuroda-Grauer who was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the third round earlier on Monday. 
 
A redshirt freshman from Scotch Plains, New Jersey, Zsak worked his way up to full strength after missing 2023 with injury and eventually cemented himself as a key starting pitcher by the end of 2024. Zsak posted a 4.11 ERA in 19 games (four starts), pitching 35 innings, striking out 39 and holding opposing hitters to a .186 batting average.

After making his first 15 appearances out of the bullpen, Zsak started each of the last four weekends for Rutgers and had his two best outings in his last two games of the season. On May 11 at Penn State, Zsak pitched six innings, allowing just one earned run on two hits, striking out three and walking two. His performance helped lead the Scarlet Knights to a 7-1 victory over the Nittany Lions. In the final game of the season on May 18, Zsak pitched six innings against Ohio State, giving up just one run on one hit, striking out a career-high seven batters and walking three. His dominant outing helped Rutgers secure a 12-1 run-rule victory over the Buckeyes. 

With the selections of Zsak and Kuroda-Grauer on Monday, Rutgers has multiple MLB Draft selections for the third straight season, with 2024 also marking the third straight season RU has produced multiple picks in the top 11 rounds of the draft. Previously, there had never been back-to-back MLB Drafts with two Rutgers players selected in the top 11 rounds.