NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – Niagara baseball center fielder Dawson Bailey has been selected to participate in the MLB Draft League.

The MLB Draft League is the professional development portion of Major League Baseball, which is for players who have exhausted their college eligibility and/or will not be returning to college baseball. The second half of the MLB Draft League will run from July 22 to Sept. 6 and games will be streamed on the MLB website.

Bailey had a phenomenal five-year career with the Purple Eagles. In his final season on the Ridge in 2022, Bailey set the single season program record in at-bats with 223 and his team-leading 12 homeruns are tied for most in a single season. He led the Purple Eagles in hits with 69 and in RBIs with 41 and he also scored a team-high 50 runs, which is tied for fifth-most in a single season. Bailey batted .309 on the season.

Bailey helped the Purple Eagles become the first No. 6 seed to win three games and advance to the final elimination bracket game in the MAAC Championships. In NU's five games played in the 2022 tournament, he batted .455 with a .520 on-base percentage and .909 slugging percentage. He had 10 hits and led the team in runs scored with 10. He also recorded six RBIs and three homeruns. Bailey's performance earned him a spot on the MAAC Baseball All-Tournament Team.

Over his Niagara career, Bailey played in 173 games and started in 155. He batted .268 with 172 hits, including 35 doubles and 22 homeruns, which are tied for third-most career homers in program history. He batted in 81 runs and crossed the plate 127 times, which is tied for sixth-most runs scored in program history. His 642 career at-bats rank sixth in the program.

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