LSU pitcher Nate Ackenhausen drafted in 10th round by Royals

BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU senior pitcher Nate Ackenhausen was selected Monday in the 10th round of the MLB Draft (287th pick overall) by the Kansas City Royals.

Rounds 3-10 are being conducted Monday in Fort Worth, Texas, and the draft will conclude Tuesday with Rounds 11-20 beginning at 1 p.m. CT. The draft rounds on Monday and Tuesday may be viewed on MLB.com.

Ackenhausen, a left-hander from Owasso, Okla., made 37 career appearances (seven starts) at LSU over two seasons (2023-24), posting a 6-5 mark, four saves and a 4.76 ERA in 73.2 innings with 36 walks and 95 strikeouts.

He appeared in 17 games (two starts) in LSU’s 2023 National Championship season, posting a 3-1 record and a 3.52 ERA in 30.2 innings with 14 walks, 36 strikeouts, two saves and a .221 opponent batting average.

Ackenhausen defeated Tennessee in a 2023 College World Series elimination game in his first career LSU start. He worked 6.0 shutout innings and limited the Vols to four hits with no walks and seven strikeouts.

He recorded a 3-4 mark, two saves and a 5.65 ERA in 2024 over 20 appearances (five starts) with 43.0 innings pitched, 22 walks and 59 strikeouts.

Ackenhausen was named to the 2023 SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll as a sport administration major.