Southern Miss baseball's Landen Payne picked by Chicago White Sox in 2025 MLB Draft
The Chicago White Sox selected Payne with the No. 526 pick in the 18th round on July 14. He's the fourth Golden Eagle taken in the 2025 draft after JB Middleton, Jake Cook and Nick Monistere.
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Here's what the White Sox are getting in Payne.
Landen Payne drafted by Chicago White Sox
Payne utilized a breakout season to form into a draft prospect. The Ocean Springs native recorded a 9.00 ERA in 2024 in nine games. Then in 2025, the right-hander improved to a 2.76 ERA in 20 games. He had three saves over his final eight appearances.
Payne played at Pearl River Community College as a freshman in 2023.
He was not ranked in MLB.com's top 250 draft prospects.
MORE: Hattiesburg sets new curfew for kids, teens amid violent crime. How police will enforce it
Landen Payne stats
Payne made 20 appearances for a 2-1 record in 2025, all out of the bullpen.
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2.76 ERA
0.98 WHIP
32.2 innings
47 strikeouts
.213 batting average against
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Landen Payne: White Sox pick Southern Miss pitcher in MLB draft
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