‘It’s a dream come true’: Kirn is selected in 14th round of MLB draft by Athletics

QUINCY — The conversations Griffin Kirn has with representatives of 22 different Major League Baseball teams during the pre-draft allowed him to be fairly confident he’d be selected in the two-day draft.

Still, that “what if” still lingered in a small way.

Just what if everyone passed and the 6-foot-3, 215-pound left-handed pitcher wasn’t picked?

“I didn’t want to go undrafted,” Kirn said. “So I tried my best to relax and stick to my normal routine. It was a fun week talking to different teams and going through the process.”

His patience and confidence paid off in a big way.

Kirn, the Quincy Notre Dame graduate and former Great Lakes Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year while at Quincy University, was selected in the 14th round by the Athletics.

“It’s great,” said Kirn, a 2020 QND graduate. “It’s a dream come true.”

He is the second QND graduate to be drafted in the past four years, joining Johnny Ray, who went in the 12th round of the 2021 draft to the Chicago White Sox. Kirn is the fifth QND graduate overall to be taken in the history of the MLB draft.

Eric Kuhlman was taken in the 63rd round by the Atlanta Braves in the 1988 draft. Tim Meckes was taken in the 12th round by the Houston Astros in the 1980 draft. Jeff Johnson was selected in the 26th round by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1975 draft.

He also is the sixth QU product to be drafted in the past decade, joining David Jacob (2016 by the Blue Jays), Graham Spraker (2017 by the Blue Jays), Cody Birdsong (2018 by the Braves), Riley Martin (2021 by the Cubs) and Chase Gockel (2023 by the Angels). 

“It’s unbelievable,” Kirn said. “It’s what you work for. It’s cool to have my hard work pay off, and this is just the tip of the iceberg.”

After starring in soccer and baseball at QND — he was an all-sectional goalkeeper as a junior and a senior —  Kirn pitched at Quincy University from 2021-2024, amassing a 22-8 record with a 4.86 ERA and 259 strikeouts over 215 innings. In 2024, the southpaw went 8-1 with a 2.96 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 82 innings to earn GLVC Pitcher of the Year honors.

With one year of eligibility remaining, he transferred to West Virginia, where he went 5-3 with a 3.36 ERA and 103 strikeouts in 99 innings and led the Mountaineers to an NCAA Super-Regional. He was named a third-team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

The Division I success primed him for this moment, even if there were some anxious moments during the draft.

“I was super anxious and nervous,” Kirn said. “I knew I was getting drafted, but I didn’t know for what or when or where. That was the most nervous part.”

With that decided, Kirn will sign his first professional contract later this week and then fly to the Athletics spring training facility in Mesa, Ariz., for a rookie mini-camp. There he will be reunited with catcher Logan Sauve, his West Virginia batterymate who was selected by the Athletics in the seventh round.

“It’s a great fit,” Kirn said of joining the Athletics.

Plus, with the draft over, he can take a few days to unwind.

“I get to play a little bit of golf and throw and lift a little bit before I head out there,” Kirn said. “It’ll be nice because everything is going to get super hectic and busy.”

And the “what if” is finally answered, just like he always believed it would be.

“No doubt, it’s a sense of relief,” Kirn said.