Six WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup bronze medallists selected in first round of KBO Draft

Six members of the Korean National Team that earned a bronze medal at the XXXI WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup were selected in the first round of the Korea Baseball Association Draft.

The Hanwha Eagles picked left-handed pitcher Junseo Hwang as No. 1 overall. Hwang started two games for Korea at the U-18 World Cup, against Chinese Taipei on 2 September and the United States on 8 September. He pitched 12.1 innings and posted a 3.97 Earned Run Average (ERA). He also pitched 5.1 innings in relief against Mexico on 5 September. Those 5.1 innings were his best performance since he allowed only one hit while striking out six. He finished the tournament with a 1-2 record.

The Doosan Bears selected right-handed pitcher Taekyeon Kim as No. 2 overall. Kim was the ace of the Korean bronze medal staff. He appeared in six games as a reliever, pitching 16 innings and allowing only one run. He had his best performance in the bronze-medal match against the United States, leading Korea to the win with a seven-inning gem. He earned All-World Team honours as the best reliever of the tournament.

Mireu Jeon was the No. 3 pick. The Lotte Giants selected the right-hander. Jeon appeared in five games at the U-18 World Cup, pitching 4.1 innings. He recorded a save against the Netherlands on 9 September.

The No. 4 pick was fireballer Sunyeop Yook. The Samsung Lions selected him at No. 4. The right-hander started the Opening Round game against Australia, going 6.1 innings and earning the win. He pitched 3.2 innings in the Super Round game against the Netherlands, allowing only one hit.

The KT Wiz selected pitcher Daehyun Cho as No. 7 overall. The right-hander appeared only in the Opening Round game against Czechia.

The SSG Landers picked infielder Jihwan Park as the No. 10 overall. Park was Korea's starting shortstop and played nine games, going 7-for-24 (a .292 batting average) with two doubles and six RBIs. He committed one error over nine games, completing 14 assists.