Texas A&M lefty Justin Lamkin selected in second round by Royals

An Aggie southpaw is off the board.

On Sunday, Texas A&M left-handed pitcher Justin Lamkin was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the second round and 71st overall. Officially, Lamkin was selected in “Competitive Balance Round B” before the beginning of the third round.

Following first-rounder Jace LaViolette, Lamkin is just the second A&M product to be selected in the 2025 MLB Draft.

At 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, the Corpus Christi native likely finishes a three-year Aggie career with an 11-13 record and a 4.69 ERA in 209.1 innings across 53 appearances, including 41 starts.

As a junior in 2025, Lamkin was 5-7 in 15 starts with a team-leading 3.42 ERA in 84.1 innings. He also struck out a team-high 98 batters as the “Saturday” starter in A&M’s lefty-exclusive weekend rotation.

During the 2024 runner-up campaign, the Calallen product emerged as an X-factor in Omaha, striking out 17 men across 10.2 innings at the Men’s College World Series.

Throughout his Maroon & White career, Lamkin offered moments of brilliance. In his first postseason start, a 2023 SEC Tournament matchup with South Carolina, he allowed just one hit across seven shutout innings to go along with nine strikeouts en route to all-tournament team honors. In 2024, he earned the first of two career SEC Pitcher of the Week accolades as he struck out a dozen in a 6-1 rubber-match victory over Mississippi State.

In undoubtedly his best (and penultimate) performance as an Aggie, he silenced a usually boisterous Georgia offense on May 16. During that masterpiece, Lamkin struck out 15, allowed three hits and did not face a three-ball count in a complete-game shutout of the Bulldogs.

Prior to his triumph in Athens, he became the 22nd member of A&M’s 200-strikeout club with a third-inning punchout of Alabama’s Coleman Mizell on March 15, reaching the milestone just eight days after teammate Ryan Prager did so. Lamkin finished tied with Jason Meyer (2004-07) for eighth in career strikeouts at A&M (260).

Ryan Brauninger’s scout of Justin Lamkin

“High floor type of left-hander. Strike thrower who only stumbled in his career when the secondary stuff waffled and detracted from the effectiveness of the fastball. Slider is a swing-and-miss offering. Executes extremely well to his glove side (in on right-handers), where he finds a lot of success late in counts. Fastball velocity continues to tick in the right direction. Unflappable, stoic demeanor on the mound.”