Who is William Schmidt? All we know about LSU signee who withdrew his name from the draft

William Schmidt decided against being part of the 2024 MLB Draft just hours before the event. This is good news for the LSU Tigers, who can now count on the top right-handed pitcher for the Class of 2024. Schmidt is Perfect Game's No. 6 overall prospect in the class.

William Schmidt is a native of Baton Rouge, and that seems to have affected his decision to join the local school instead of going the MLB route. Schmidt reportedly grew up in a family of LSU fans.

"Growing up here, it's always been the dream to play at LSU, and like, going through the (draft) process, I still felt that my heart was at LSU."

William Schmidt played at Catholic High in Baton Rouge and had a 0.44 ERA and 102 strikeouts in 63⅔ innings in his senior season. Schmidt led Catholic to the state title and was named the Gatorade Player of the Year for Louisiana. He was also the first overall prospect of the state of Louisiana. Thanks to his efforts, Catholic High ended last season as the top overall high school baseball program.

What was William Schmidt's stock in the 2024 MLB Draft?

What surprised many about Schmidt's decision to forgo the draft was that the player could've easily been a top-30 pick this year, according to ESPN and MLB.com.

William Schmidt and two other LSU high school prospects were invited to the MLB Combine in June (Mavrick Rizy and Casan Evans). The Tigers have had four high school pitching prospects commit to the school this year, with them being William Schmidt, Mavrick Rizy, Casan Evans and Landon Victorian.

The 6-foot-4-inch Schmidt is the highest-rated player in the group, and he's expected to become the star of the pitching rotation at LSU. LSU also added Gavin Guidry, Fidel Ulloa and Kade Woods from the transfer portal.

No LSU Tigers selected in the first round of the 2024 MLB Draft

No LSU Tigers were selected in the first round of this year's draft. Tommy White, who was the school's highest hope for a first-rounder, ended up being selected by the Oakland A's with the 40th overall pick of the draft in the second round.

The first overall pick of the draft was made by the Cleveland Guardians, who picked second baseman Travis Bazzana from Oregon State University. Righty pitcher Chase Burns out of Wake Forest was the second pick by the Reds, and the third pick was Georgia's Charlie Condon, who is now a Colorado Rockie.