Matt Wallner

Wallner graduated from Forest Lake Area High School in Forest Lake, Minnesota, where he played baseball. As a junior, he committed to play college baseball at the University of North Dakota.[1] However, during his senior year, North Dakota dropped baseball for financial reasons,[2] and he then signed with the University of Southern Mississippi.[3] As a senior, he pitched to a 7-1 record with a 0.95 ERA along with batting .382 with ten home runs[4] and was named Minnesota Mr. Baseball.[5] Following his senior season, Wallner was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 32nd round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft.[6] However, he did not sign, and instead chose to honor his commitment to the University of Southern Mississippi.

In 2017, as a freshman at USM, Wallner hit .336 with 19 home runs and 63 RBIs in 66 games. He also appeared in nine games out of the bullpen, compiling a 1.84 ERA.[7] He was named Freshman of the Year by Conference USA, Baseball America,[8] and D1Baseball.com.[9] He also garnered Freshman Hitter of the Year honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.[10] He was named to the C-USA All-Freshman Team as well as the C-USA Second Team.[11] He was also named a Freshman All-American by multiple outlets including the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.[12] As a sophomore in 2018, Wallner batted .351 with 16 home runs and 67 RBIs in 62 games[13] while pitching to a 7.98 ERA in 14.2 innings.[14] He was named to the C-USA First Team[15] and once again was named an All-American by various publications.[16] Following the season, he was named to USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team.[17] He also played in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Falmouth Commodores.[18] Prior to the 2019 season, Wallner was named a preseason All-American by Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, D1Baseball.com and Perfect Game.[19][20] During the year, he hit his 54th career home run, becoming USM's all-time record holder.[21] Wallner batted .323 with 23 home runs and sixty RBIs for the season,[22] earning a spot on the C-USA First Team.[23] He finished his collegiate career with a school record 58 home runs.[24]

Wallner was selected by the Minnesota Twins with the 39th overall pick in the 2019 Major League Baseball draft.[25][26] He signed for $1.8 million,[27] and was assigned to the Elizabethton Twins.[28] He was promoted to the Cedar Rapids Kernels in August.[29] Over 65 games between the two clubs, Wallner batted .258/.357/.452 with eight home runs and 34 RBIs.

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Baseball-Reference
• Southern Miss Golden Eagles bio