SIU sophomore outfielder Tristan Peters was drafted in the seventh round by the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday in the 2021 Major League Baseball draft. Peters is the highest-drafted SIU player since Sam Coonrod went in the fifth round in 2014.
Peters was one of the best all-around players in the Missouri Valley Conference in 2021. He was an All-Midwest Region First Team honoree, an All-MVC Second Team selection, and a member of the MVC All-Defensive Team. He led the MVC in on-base percentage, walks and doubles in 2021, and he ranked third in the league in hits, third in RBIs, fourth in stolen bases, fifth in batting average, sixth in runs scored, sixth in total bases, and 12th in slugging. Peters, a Gold Glove outfielder in junior college, did not commit an error all season. He had nearly twice as many walks (46) as strikeouts (28).
Peters is the 108th SIU player to be taken in the MLB Draft since 1966. Twenty-five Salukis have gone on to make the Major Leagues, most recently Sam Coonrod, who is a relief pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies.
SIU’S TOP-10 ROUND PICKS SINCE 1990
1991 – Sean Bergman (4th round, Tigers)
1996 – Brad Blumenstock (8th round, Athletics)
2004 – Eric Haberer (3rd round, Cardinals)
2005 – P.J. Finigan (7th round, Tigers)
2006 – Tyler Norrick (6th round, Cardinals)
2006 – Grant Gerrard (7th round, Rangers)
2008 – Cody Adams (2nd round, Brewers)
2012 – Chris Serritella (4th round, Phillies)
2014 – Sam Coonrod (5th round, Giants)
2017 – Chad Whitmer (10th round, Yankees)
2021 – Tristan Peters (7th round, Brewers)