\n Story Links
\n
<\/p>\n
KENNESAW,\u00a0Ga. –\u00a0Kennesaw State pitcher Nate Helman<\/a> was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 17th round of the 2026 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Sunday, becoming the 498th overall pick.\u00a0<\/p>\n Helman is the 76th player in program history to be selected in the MLB Draft and extends Kennesaw State’s streak to 18 consecutive full-length drafts with at least one\u00a0selection, dating back to 2008. The Dana Point, Calif., native is the second Owl ever drafted by the Pirates, joining Mason Ward (2017), while his selection marks the fourth consecutive season a KSU right-handed pitcher has been chosen.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nate Helman<\/a> (17th Round | 498th Overall | Pittsburgh Pirates)\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kennesaw State in the MLB Draft\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Champions Fund\u00a0\u00a0
\n\tA\u00a0high-leverage arm out of the Kennesaw State bullpen\u00a0\u00a0
\n\tAppeared in 38 games (4 starts) over two seasons with the Owls\u00a0\u00a0
\n\tPosted 40 strikeouts in 31.0 innings during the 2026 season\u00a0\u00a0
\n\tStruck out at least three batters in six consecutive appearances from Feb. 28-April 7\u00a0\u00a0
\n\tTossed five consecutive scoreless outings during that stretch\u00a0\u00a0
<\/p>\n
\n\tHelman became the 76th MLB Draft\u00a0selection\u00a0in program history\u00a0\u00a0
\n\tSecond Owl selected by the Pirates, joining Mason Ward (2017)\u00a0\u00a0
\n\tKSU has produced at least one draft pick in 18 consecutive full-length MLB Drafts (excluding the five-round 2020 draft)\u00a0\u00a0
\n\tMarks the fourth straight season a KSU right-handed pitcher has been selected\u00a0
<\/p>\n
\nThe Champions Fund is a newly created, 100% tax deductible, philanthropic opportunity to contribute strategic revenue to Kennesaw State Athletics, with the goal of strengthening our ability to recruit and\u00a0retain\u00a0top-tier talent in this new era of collegiate athletics. Contributions to the Champions Fund will help aid in funding student-athlete recruitment and retention, as well as helping the Owls provide competitive excellence through investments in coaching,\u00a0travel\u00a0and facilities. The fund will also give an elevated student-athlete experience, including enhanced academic, nutrition,\u00a0wellness\u00a0and leadership programs. Donate to the Champions Fund\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0and help us support our Kennesaw State Owls.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Story Links
KENNESAW,\u00a0Ga. –\u00a0Kennesaw State pitcher Nate Helman was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":242075,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[73,75,74],"class_list":["post-242074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242074\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}