TIFTON — Tift County and Tiftarea Academy players can watch the Major League Baseball Draft and dream. While none of them were selected, they were familiar with several names going to professional teams.

The Blue Devils missed facing Thomasville’s Hurston Waldrep, having only renewed acquaintances this year with the Bulldogs on the diamond. Waldrep was a 1st round selection out of the University of Florida. Two players they did face this year went in the early rounds and another a bit later.

Tift knocked out North Atlanta in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs, particularly impressive considering the Warriors’ lineup contained Antonio Anderson and Isaiah Drake. The Red Sox picked Anderson in the 3rd round, with the Braves selecting Drake in the 5th round.

Anderson entered the series with Tift with a .469 average and 51 RBIs, according to team stats on MaxPreps. At the end of the series, Anderson was batting .438, having gone 1-for-9 in the series, driving in no runs. Drake, 2-for-10 against the Devils, also drove in no runs.

Houston County’s Drew Burress is a top prospect, but was not taken by any MLB team. Major League squads might not have thought they could shake Burress from his commitment to play collegiately for Georgia Tech.

The Bears did have a player drafted, however. The Detroit Tigers selected pitcher Andrew Dunford in the 12th round. Dunford won against the Devils in April. Tift scored three runs against him, but none were earned. Houston went on to finish undefeated in the region, then won the state Class 6A championship in 2023.

In the 15th round, the Baltimore Orioles picked Lowndes’ Qrey Lott. The Blue Devils did not play Lowndes in 2023, but spent three years in Region 1-7A with the Vikings and Lott. Lowndes won the Class 7A championship this season.

Lott already signed with Northwest Florida State. Being drafted in a lower round — MLB drafts go 20 rounds these days — may not spur him to go pro now, but play collegiately and hope to go in a higher round in the future.