Hempfield grad Phil Fox taken in 7th round of MLB Draft
Hempfield grad and former Pitt Panther Phil Fox was taken in the seventh round of the MLB draft by the Chicago White Sox. Fox was the 199th overall pick.
Fox is the first player who graduated from Hempfield to be drafted since 2013 when Andy Haines was selected and the third player to formerly play in the Big 56 drafted in the 2024 MLB Draft.
After Hempfield, Fox attended Gardner-Webb before getting injured a few months into being on the team. He had Tommy-John surgery and had to sit out the 2022 season.
In 2023, Fox returned and made the Big South All-Freshman team pitching 30 1/3 innings, picking up three saves and a 4.71 ERA. Fox transferred to Pitt for the 2024 season where he threw 36 2/3 innings, striking out 45 and only walking three guys. He had a 3-2 record with a 1.47 ERA and eight saves for the Panthers. Fox was named a third team All-American and second team All-ACC.