Hayden Dunhurst

Hayden Dunhurst, a catcher in the Kansas City Royals Organization, was an Ole Miss baseball fixture behind the plate and one of the best catchers in college baseball for the three years before getting drafted by the Royals in 2022. Originally selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 37th round of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign, instead electing to attend Ole Miss. Dunhurst did not attend baseball camps or take lessons when growing up, but instead modeled his catching techniques after Yadier Molina and Salvador Pérez by watching YouTube videos. As a freshman at Ole Miss in 2020, Dunhurst appeared in 17 games and batted .269 with five home runs before the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, as a redshirt freshman, Dunhurst made 65 starts and slashed .280/.385/.435 with seven home runs, 43 RBIs, and 11 doubles. He won the ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove award at catcher. After the season, he was named to the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. Dunhurst entered the 2022 season as a top prospect for the upcoming draft. During his sophomore season, he appeared in 65 games, making 65 starts (59 at catcher, six at DH) ... Became second player in Rebel history to win ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Award ... Selected to USA Baseball Collegiate National Team ... Named to All-SEC Second Team, All-Defensive and All-Newcomer teams. In Hayden’s junior season, he appeared in 56 games, starting in 54 of them and batted .231 with six home runs, 30 RBI, and 30 runs scored. Hayden went 2-for-4 with a run scored in the Super Regional title clinching game against Southern Mississippi, helping lead Ole Miss to their first ever NCAA Championship. The Kansas City Royals selected Dunhurst with the No. 125 pick in the 6th round of the 2022 MLB Draft Monday. Rated the No. 147 prospect in the class by Baseball America and the No. 155 prospect by MLB.com, he flashed the potential that had scouts considering him a potential first-round pick. Hayden began the 2023 season in the Rookie Ball Arizona Complex League and was quickly promoted to the Low-A Carolina League where he split time as a catcher and designated hitter for the Columbia Fireflies. Hayden got to play one game with the High-A Riverbandits before he was sent back to the Fireflies where he will play for the remainder of the season. On April 26, 2024, Hayden signed with the Kane County Cougars of the American Association of Professional Baseball. In 2025, Hayden played in 6 games for Kane County before signing with the Lake Country Dockhounds, another team in the American Association of Professional Baseball, on May 30. Career Highlights & Awards: 2022 MLB Draft Pick (Round 6 - No. 125 Overall) 2022 National Champion 2021 ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Award Winner (Catcher) 2021 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team 2021 All-SEC Second Team 2021 SEC All-Defensive Team 2021 SEC All-Newcomer Team 2021 Preseason All-SEC Second Team 2020 Freshman All-American (Collegiate Baseball) 2020 SEC Freshman of the Week (Week 5) 2020 Buster Posey Award Watch List 2019 MLB Draft Pick (Round 37 - Colorado Rockies)