Why Are There College Cards In This Year's Bowman Draft?
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December saw one of the biggest releases of the year: Bowman Draft. This product is the first to feature First Bowman cards for players from the previous year's draft. It includes a majority of the first-round picks but typically reserves a few notable players for the Bowman Baseball product released early the following year.
Each year, the player selection varies slightly. This year, the third overall pick, Charlie Condon, and the eighth overall pick, JJ Wetherholt, were held back for the 2025 product.
Who Is Travis Bazzana & Why His First Bowman Baseball Card Is Important
Meanwhile, players like Travis Bazzana, the first overall pick, and superstar two-way player Jac Caglianone, the sixth overall pick, received their First Bowman cards in this release.
𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘: Jac Caglianone & Travis Bazzana are your 2024 Bowman Draft cover athletes. pic.twitter.com/55PefvySrZ
— Topps (@Topps) November 4, 2024
Caglianone, during his time at Florida, made history as the first college baseball player to sign an exclusive deal with Fanatics and Topps.
HISTORY. Jac Caglianone becomes the first college baseball player to sign an exclusive deal with Topps x Fantatics. This deal encompasses both trading cards and memorabilia. pic.twitter.com/eTPpAbrFX7
— Topps (@Topps) June 13, 2024
While Topps did not release any cards of Caglianone during his time at Florida, collectors can still find cards of him in his college uniform from other sources.
Jac Caglianone aka The Next Shohei Ohtani Is Getting His First Bowman Chrome Card
Baseball differs significantly from other sports because players often spend years developing in the minors before reaching the majors. Prospecting and investing in First Bowman cards can be risky but rewarding once a player makes it to the big leagues.
When NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) rules were introduced, Topps quickly capitalized on the opportunity, releasing college football and basketball cards. In 2021, they launched their first college product in decades with a Bowman release. However, they didn’t introduce college baseball cards until now.
This year’s Bowman Draft includes a subset of Chrome College Variations. While not part of a dedicated college-specific set, these cards are the closest collectors have had. One of Caglianone’s cards from this set recently sold for $6,500, setting a record as the highest-priced Florida Gators card of all time.
𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗜𝗡: Jac Caglianone has passed Emmitt Smith for the most expensive Florida Gators card ever sold.
— Topps (@Topps) December 20, 2024
1989 Emmitt Smith Gators PSA 10…
Sold on 4/23/21: $6,300
2024 Bowman Draft Jac Red /5…
Sold on 12/10/24: $6,500 pic.twitter.com/pa37YAc6EK
The checklist for this subset features 10 players: The check list itself consists of 10 total players including Travis Bazzana, Hagen Smith, Jac Caglianone, Christian Moore, Ryan Waldschmidt, Carson Benge, James Tibbs III, Braden Montgomery, Cam Smith, and Blake Burke.
These cards are rare, with base versions found at odds of 1:713 in hobby packs and 1:185 in super jumbo packs. In addition to base cards, collectors can chase gold refractors numbered to 50, orange refractors numbered to 25, red refractors numbered to 5, and the elusive Superfractor, which is a 1/1.
Adam has been a sports content creator since 2016, initially focusing on creating sports-related graphics for his Instagram page. In 2018, he transitioned to writing and podcasting about sports cards. Since then, he has worked both independently and with companies within the industry, producing podcasts, videos, and written content on sports cards.
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