Chicago White Sox Select Virginia Tech's Luke Craytor in Ninth Round of 2026 MLB Draft

Craytor is the second Hokie to be selected in this year's MLB Draft.

Virginia Tech Athletics

Luke Craytor became the second Hokie to hear his name called as part of the 2026 MLB Draft when he was selected by the Chicago White Sox with the 255th pick of the 2026 MLB Draft in the ninth round of 20.

𝙋𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙭 🧦

Luke Craytor has been selected during the 𝟗𝐭𝐡 round by the #WhiteSox at 𝐍𝐨. 𝟐𝟓𝟓 overall#ProHokies 🦃⚾️ pic.twitter.com/0Dv4OwDxnN

— Virginia Tech Baseball (@HokiesBaseball) July 12, 2026

Craytor, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound right-hander from Charlottesville, Va., spent two seasons at Lafayette before transitioning to Virginia Tech. In his two years with Lafayette, he logged a record of 1-8 with a 8.15 ERA and two saves. He logged 85 innings with the Leopards, allowing a total of 112 hits, 98 runs (77 earned) and 10 home runs.

Craytor transferred to Virginia Tech after his sophomore season and operated exclusively as a bullpen arm from then on. In the 2025 season, he tossed 18.1 innings, just under half of his 2024 output (36 1/3 frames), and he allowed 26 hits and 18 runs. He posted an 8.84 ERA across the season, though he did tab two saves in wins against ETSU (8-6, Feb. 18, 2025) and UNC Greensboro (8-3, Feb. 24, 2025). His worst performance of the season came against Radford where, in two-thirds of a frame, he was tagged for five hits and four earned runs in a 8-1 loss. Against Pitt, Craytor yielded five hits and two earned runs in a damp 14-13 loss, and his 2025 season concluded with a four-hit, three-run (all earned) output against Virginia without an out int he regular season finale.

His 2026 campaign, however, was far more stellar, as he finished with a 3.16 ERA — the highest on the team and of Craytor's career. In 25.2 innings of work, he yielded 22 hits and only nine earned runs, striking out 30 batters and conceding only three home runs. Craytor was instrumental in Virginia Tech's 4-3 victory over Rutgers, in which he threw 3.2 frames of one-hit no-run ball. That 3.2-inning output was the longest for Craytor in a Hokie uniform. Craytor's final game with Virginia Tech came against Cal Poly in the opener of the Los Angeles Regional, where he allowed one hit and no runs in 1.2 innings of work on May 29.

Craytor is the second Virginia Tech player to be drafted in this year's MLB Draft and the second pitcher, too, joining fellow right-hander Brett Renfrow, who went to the Minnesota Twins at No. 74. Rising senior arms Aiden Robertson and Griffin Stieg were selected in last year's MLB Draft, and both are eligible again this year. Stieg (selected in the 18th round last year) threw for a 7.46 ERA as one of the Hokies' weekend starters, while Robertson threw for a 10.19 ERA and was quickly placed into a bullpen role. Stieg is likely to get drafted and not return to Virginia Tech for a senior season, though nothing is set in stone.

Pivoting back to Craytor, here's how the Chicago White Sox farm system works out:

• Triple-A: Charlotte Knights (Int'l League) (Charlotte, N.C.)
• Double-A: Birmingham Barons (Southern League) (Birmingham, Ala.)
• High-A: Winston-Salem Dash (South Atlantic League) (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
• Single-A: Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (Carolina League) (Kannapolis, N.C.)
• Rookie: ACL White Sox (Arizona Complex League) (Glendale, Ariz.) and DSL White Sox (Dominican Summer League) (Boca Chica, Santo Domingo, The Dominican Republic)