ATLANTA, Ga. – Lander standout reliever Tyler Bowen became the 12th player in Lander baseball history to be selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, as he was picked in the 12th round by the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday afternoon. Bowen is the first Bearcat drafted since Fraser Ellard was selected in the eighth round by the Chicago White Sox in 2021.

In his final season with the Bearcats, Bowen posted a 3.67 ERA over 34.1 innings, striking out 55 and recording four saves while helping lead Lander to its first Peach Belt Conference Tournament title since 2014. Over his career, the right-hander struck out 90 batters in 67.0 innings—an average of 12.08 strikeouts per nine innings.

"We are super proud of Tyler and everything he accomplished with our program," said head coach Jason Burke. "He put in a ton of hard work over four years and never wavered in his commitment to the program. He is a great player, a great teammate, and a Bearcat for life. He's going to do great things with the Phillies organization."

Just a few hours after teammate Tyler Bowen was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 12th round of the 2025 Major League Baseball Draft, Richie Cortese became the 13th player in Lander baseball history to be drafted, joining Bowen in Philadelphia as the Phillies selected him in the 17th round on Monday afternoon.

This marks the first time since 2019 that multiple Bearcats have been selected in the same MLB Draft. That year, current Lander pitching coach Alex Moore was drafted by the Chicago Cubs, while Ryan Troutman was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

"To have two guys go to the same organization in the same year is super special," said head coach Jason Burke. "Richie kept his head down and worked his tail off to become the player he is now. He's a great player and an equally great teammate. I know he and Bowen are going to push each other to be great."

Cortese was a key piece in Lander's historic 2025 season, striking out 30 batters in just 16.2 innings. Opponents hit just .200 against the hard-throwing right-hander. He sealed Lander's first NCAA Tournament win since 2016 by striking out four over two innings to close out a 13-8 victory over Young Harris.