Fewer than 11 percent of college baseball players are drafted by a Major League Baseball team, with the percentage of players who make it to the league even smaller. Approximately 0.5% to 2.1% of all college players will advance to the next level. Every day is a fight to stay and have a place on a roster. And with the odds already stacked against players, given the low probability of success on the field, it is no understatement to say that succeeding at the next level is an achievement worth talking about.
Former Austin Peay State University baseball alumni Jon Jon Gazdar and John Bay both triumphed in their post-graduate careers with their respective organizations.
Gazdar was drafted 321st overall in the 11th round by the St. Louis Cardinals following the 2024 season with Austin Peay. He was assigned to the Single-A Palm Beach Cardinals in July 2024, where he played 19 games before being promoted to High-A Peoria to play for the Chiefs in April 2025.
In his transition from Austin Peay to professional baseball, one of the things he heard a lot of was "being a pro in everything you do, and the way you do one thing is how you do everything". Gazdar was a standout player in the field during his time with the Govs. The APSU shortstop was placed on the Brooks Wallace Award Watchlist in both seasons played in Clarksville and was a top-five finalist in the 2024 season, also being named the 2024 Atlantic Sun Defensive Player of the Year.
Gazdar led the Chiefs' roster with 103 hits – 20 more than the next player – while also posting a stellar .984 fielding percentage, sharing time both at shortstop and second base. "It goes back to even my junior college. And then at Austin Peay, Roland [Fanning] was someone I worked with day in and day out, and the biggest thing I learned from him was consistency and to do the little things right."
Gazdar was later promoted to Double-A Springfield, where he joined a team making a run for the playoffs in the Texas League. Coming into an environment where everyone was looking to win and not focus solely on individual performance and success, Gazdar said, "the team in Springfield was extremely special. That team really knew how to win, and it reminds me of what it was like to play for Austin Peay on that 2024 team."
Gazdar continues to climb the ladder of success – doing so at a rapid pace – at the next level, and is looking forward to his next full season as a pro.
Bay, who finished his senior season in 2025 as a First Team All-ASUN selection, went undrafted and signed with the New York Mets as a free agent. He then began his professional career with Single-A St. Lucie, where he played 17 games and batted .333 with three home runs and 19 RBI, before being promoted to High-A Brooklyn.
Bay's transition from St. Lucie to Brooklyn was similar to that of Gazdar, as he went on to play for a championship team and helped the Cyclones win the South Atlantic League Championship. "It's been pretty crazy. I feel like God's plan is just anything more than I can imagine. Going from being unsigned and not hearing my name in the draft to now sitting here in Arizona and continuing to play ball is awesome. Both organizations I was a part of for the Mets had a winning mindset instilled in us."
Despite not being a draft selection following graduation, Baseball America's 2025 MLB Draft Report Card for the Mets had Bay having the best pro debut of any prospect in the organization. His four home runs and a .253/.417/.458 slash line was enough to be selected.
When asked about the house and how that foundation and lifestyle have an impact on him as a person and a player, Bay said, "It's a mindset of I'm going to show up and protect the house. The house can be the Mets organization; the house can be myself. I'm not going to let myself make excuses. It's every aspect of your life."
Bay continues his playing career in the MLB Arizona Fall League this summer, and is excited for the opportunities next year with New York.
