The Kansas City Royals announced today that they have agreed to terms with right-handed pitcher Jackson Kowar, the club's Round 1 Compensation selection (33rd overall) in the 2018 First-Year Player Draft. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Kowar, 21, a 6-foot-5 pitcher from the University of Florida, posted a 10-5 record with a 3.04 ERA (38 ER in 112.2 IP) and 115 strikeouts during his junior season with the Gators. He finished his collegiate career with a 6-1 victory over Texas in an elimination game at the College World Series, fanning a career high 13 hitters over 6.2 scoreless innings. It was the most strikeouts in a College World Series game since 2010, when Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer both did it for UCLA. He earned his first collegiate save in Game 2 of the 2017 College World Series finals, clinching a 6-1 win over LSU and Florida's first National Championship. Kowar was previously drafted by Detroit (40th round) in 2015 out of Charlotte Christian High School (N.C.), but did not sign.