The back-to-back world champions selected UConn left-hander in the seventh round of the 2026 MLB Draft.
The Los Angeles Dodgers reached into Connecticut on Sunday, selecting left-handed pitcher Charlie West, a junior, in the seventh round of the 2026 MLB Draft.
West led the Big East in the 2026 season with 111 strikeouts and earned first-team All-Big East recognition. He turned in eight quality starts among his 16 starts and finished the season with a 6-6 record and 4.12 ERA spread over 87 1/3 innings.
He struck out a season-high 14 batters against Butler over 6 2/3 shutout innings in a 5-4 loss on April 10. He gave up three hits and departed with a 4-0 lead, but Butler responded with two runs in the eighth and three in the ninth to win.
West’s draft spot, No. 223 overall, is pegged for a signing bonus of $260,300.
The Charlie West file
The 5-foot-11 West arrived at UConn from Ward Melville High School on New York’s Long Island, the same program that produced former UConn pitcher Anthony Kay, now with the Chicago White Sox. After a senior season that saw him finish 6-1 with a 1.42 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 54 1/3 innings pitched.
Kay and West were two of the only three Ward Melville players to be named best pitcher in Suffolk County, an honor West received in 2023.
In three seasons at UConn, West appeared in 37 games (23 starts) and had a 12-6 overall record when including a 6-0 sophomore season. He had a 3.77 ERA and compiled 176 strikeouts and 76 walks in 143 1/3 innings. Batters hit .222 against him.
He pitched briefly this summer for the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod Baseball League. West appeared in four games, all starts, and finished 0-1 with a 2.16 ERA. In 16 2/3 innings, he allowed four earned runs on 13 hits, seven walks and two hit by pitches. He struck out 26 batters.
If there is a knock on West, it is his control. In his time at UConn, he threw 16 wild pitches and hit 18 batters.
UConn draft history
Baseball programs in the Northeast tend to toil in relative anonymity, with all of the attention going to players who hone their skills year-round in the sunshine states. But when it comes to UConn, head coach Jim Penders’ program doesn’t follow that narrative.
UConn Roundtable’s Brady Farkas took a look at the Huskies’ amazing draft history earlier. West becomes the 127th UConn player to be drafted, and he was the only one picked in the 20-round event this weekend.
Of those draft picks, 80 have come under head coach Jim Penders. This marks the 21st consecutive season that at least one UConn player has been drafted or signed with an MLB affiliate, according to the athletic department.
West is the 18th UConn player to be selected in the first 10 rounds since 2009.
George Springer (Toronto Blue Jays) and Kay are the former Huskies currently in the majors. Kyler Fedko has appeared in 14 games with the Minnesota Twins this season and is now assigned to their Triple-A affiliate.
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