FORT WORTH, Texas — Australian second baseman Travis Bazzana was taken by the Cleveland Guardians with the No. 1 pick in Major League Baseball’s amateur draft on Sunday, and three players from Wake Forest were selected in the top 10.

A former cricket, rugby and soccer player who came to the United States to play baseball for Oregon State, the 21-year-old hit .407 with 28 homers and 66 RBI this season. He became the first Australian and first second baseman taken No. 1.

“An opportunity to make an impact on a lot of baseball players and a lot of people back home in Australia, and hopefully change the narrative for baseball there,” Bazzana said.

Bazzana hit .360 over three seasons at Oregon State with 45 homers, 165 RBI, 180 walks and 66 steals.

Cleveland President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti said the team made its decision Sunday.

“He recognizes pitches exceedingly well,” Antonetti said. “He knows the strike zone, makes good swing decisions, when he does choose to swing makes elite-level contact. And I think what’s really grown in Travis’ game over the past year or so is the ability to add impact and drive the ball.”

Baseball’s No. 1 selection this year had a slot value of $10,570,600 under the bonus pools system that began in 2012.

The Boston Red Sox had the 12th pick and selected outfielder Braden Montgomery of Texas A&M.

Montgomery was born in Des Moines, Iowa, but played his high school baseball at Madison Central High in Mississippi, where he was the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year in 2021.

Montgomery started his college career at Stanford. He transferred to Texas A&M before the 2024 season and excelled with the Aggies, hitting .322 with 27 home runs and 85 RBI. He was a key cog for an Aggies team that went all the way to the final of the College World Series before losing to Tennessee.

Montgomery is rehabbing from an ankle injury suffered in the first game of the Super Regional series against Oregon and won’t be ready to hit for another four to six weeks.

Cleveland had the top pick for the first time since the draft began in 1965, winning a weighted lottery in December despite having a 2% chance. The lottery began last year as part of a collective bargaining agreement provision to discourage struggling teams from deliberately trying for a top draft pick by getting rid of veterans.

Just 10 high school players were among the 30 first-round picks.

Wake Forest right-hander Chase Burns was drafted second by Cincinnati, first baseman Nick Kurtz went fourth to Oakland, and third baseman/outfielder Seaver King was taken 10th by Washington.

Burns, 21, was 10-1 with a 2.70 ERA, 191 strikeouts and 30 walks over 100 innings in 16 starts. The Reds took Demon Deacons right-hander Rhett Lowder with the seventh overall selection last year.

Colorado chose Georgia third baseman Charlie Condon with the third pick. Projected as the No. 1 pick by some, the 6-foot-6 Condon led the NCAA this year with a .433 average and 37 homers. The 21-year-old homered in eight straight games from April 26 to May 9, one shy of the NCAA record, and won the Golden Spikes Award as the top amateur baseball player.

Kurtz hit .306 with 22 homers, 57 RBI and 78 walks.

Arkansas left-hander Hagen Smith, who had Tommy John surgery as a 16-year-old in 2019, was picked fifth by the Chicago White Sox. He went 9-2 with a 2.04 ERA in 16 starts, striking out 161 in 84 innings.

Kansas City used the sixth pick on Jac Caglianone, a two-way player from Florida. A first baseman and left-handed pitcher, he hit .419 with 35 homers and 72 RBI for the Gators this year while going 5-2 with a 4.76 ERA in 16 starts, striking out 83 and walking 50 in 73 2/3 innings.

West Virginia infielder JJ Wetherholt went seventh to St. Louis. The 21-year-old hit .331 with eight homers and 30 RBI in 36 games, missing 24 games between Feb. 19 and April 5 because of a hamstring injury. He won the Division I batting title as a sophomore in 2023, hitting .449 with 16 homers and 60 RBI and 36 stolen bases.

Wetherholt attended the draft wearing a black cowboy hat and bolo tie, but quickly put on a Cardinals jersey and cap.

Tennessee second baseman Christian Moore, also on site, was taken eighth by the Los Angeles Angels.

Konnor Griffin was the first high school player picked, taken ninth by Pittsburgh. The 18-year-old is a shortstop and outfielder from Jackson Prep in Mississippi.

Florida State outfielder James Tibbs III was taken 13th by San Francisco and Seminoles teammate Cam Smith, a third baseman, went next to the Chicago Cubs.

Mississippi State switch pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje was selected 15th by Seattle. Cijntje was born in the Netherlands, grew up in Curaçao and played in the 2016 Little League World Series. He was drafted in the 18th round by Milwaukee two years ago but went to college.

Cam Caminiti, a cousin of 1986 NL MVP Ken Caminiti, was picked 24th by Atlanta. The 17-year-old left-hander is from Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Teams were to make the first 74 picks Sunday at the Cowtown Coliseum, with the remainder of the 20 rounds on Monday and Tuesday. Cleveland also picked 36th and 48th.

Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred was booed by the roughly 2,000 fans on hand when he emerged on stage through the set’s saloon doors.