University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Joey Urban Taken in Second Day of 2026 MLB Draft
7/12/2026 6:00:00 PM | Baseball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss outfielder Joey Urban (Jupiter, Fla.) was the lone Golden Eagle selected during the second day of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft Sunday. Urban was chosen in the ninth round by the Toronto Blue Jays at pick No. 282.
Urban, an ABCA second team All-South Region selection and the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Most Outstanding Player this spring, played and started in all 61 games (56 in center field and 5 at designated hitter). He Hit .320 with 11 doubles, three triples, 15 home runs and 55 RBI, while scored 70 times which tied him for ninth on the school's single season chart and also ranked him No. 21 nationally.
He finished his two-year career as a .326 hitter with 106 runs, 20 doubles, four triples, 24 homers and 82 RBI. To complete his Southern Miss senior campaign, Urban ended his season year by hitting .397 (24-for-61) over his final 14 games, with 21 runs, five doubles, a triple, four home runs and 19 RBI while closing with a six-game hitting streak.
Urban hit .333 in the Sun Belt Tournament with seven runs, a triple, a home run and a team-best 8 RBI to earn the league's MOP of the event. He also was named Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week on consecutive occasions (Feb. 24 and March 3) and became the only Golden Eagle position player to win a weekly award in back-to-back weeks. He additionally garnered a spot on the Round Rock Classic All-Tournament team, which included a triple, a homer and four RBI against Oregon State (2/21).
It was the second-straight season the Blue Jays collected a Southern Miss player as Jake Cook was a third-round pick of the organization last July. Urban is now the fifth Golden Eagle chosen by the Blue Jays, joining pitchers John Gilligan (1990, 36th), John Bale (1996, 5th) and Conor Fisk (2014, 24th), along with Cook last season.
Two former Golden Eagles, who transferred at the conclusion of the 2026 season, were also chosen on Sunday. Those two pitchers included McCarty English, a 17th round pick to the Tampa Bay Rays, and Drake Meeks, an 18th round selection to the Detroit Tigers.
Urban, an ABCA second team All-South Region selection and the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Most Outstanding Player this spring, played and started in all 61 games (56 in center field and 5 at designated hitter). He Hit .320 with 11 doubles, three triples, 15 home runs and 55 RBI, while scored 70 times which tied him for ninth on the school's single season chart and also ranked him No. 21 nationally.
He finished his two-year career as a .326 hitter with 106 runs, 20 doubles, four triples, 24 homers and 82 RBI. To complete his Southern Miss senior campaign, Urban ended his season year by hitting .397 (24-for-61) over his final 14 games, with 21 runs, five doubles, a triple, four home runs and 19 RBI while closing with a six-game hitting streak.
Urban hit .333 in the Sun Belt Tournament with seven runs, a triple, a home run and a team-best 8 RBI to earn the league's MOP of the event. He also was named Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week on consecutive occasions (Feb. 24 and March 3) and became the only Golden Eagle position player to win a weekly award in back-to-back weeks. He additionally garnered a spot on the Round Rock Classic All-Tournament team, which included a triple, a homer and four RBI against Oregon State (2/21).
It was the second-straight season the Blue Jays collected a Southern Miss player as Jake Cook was a third-round pick of the organization last July. Urban is now the fifth Golden Eagle chosen by the Blue Jays, joining pitchers John Gilligan (1990, 36th), John Bale (1996, 5th) and Conor Fisk (2014, 24th), along with Cook last season.
Two former Golden Eagles, who transferred at the conclusion of the 2026 season, were also chosen on Sunday. Those two pitchers included McCarty English, a 17th round pick to the Tampa Bay Rays, and Drake Meeks, an 18th round selection to the Detroit Tigers.
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Players Mentioned
Friday, October 20
Tuesday, August 22
Thursday, August 17
Saturday, August 12