Braves Sign Auburn Star First Baseman Following MLB Draft

The first baseman is coming off another strong year on the Plains. He had a career-best .326 batting average in a career-high 62 games played. He also had an OPS over 1.000 for the third time in his career, one for each season he was at Auburn. 

The only time McMurray didn’t have an OPS at 1.000 or higher was during his freshman year at Kansas, when he finished with a .914 OPS. He provides pop to the lineup, hitting exactly 14 home runs in each of the last three seasons. In his last two seasons, he’s driven in at least 56 RBIs, with his final season in college seeing him drive in a career high 59 RBIs. 

McMurray helped lead Auburn to a major turnaround year in 2025. After finishing a lackluster 27-26 overall and an abysmal 8-22 in SEC play, the Tigers improved to 41-20 overall and 17-13 in SEC play. 

Auburn hosted both a Regional and a Super Regional. They dropped the Super Regional to Coastal Carolina in two games, falling short of the College World Series. 

The Braves add more first baseman depth to the system. He joins Hayden Friese, who was drafted out of Western Carolina in the 20th and final round of the draft, as the newest player at the position heading to the organization. 

Neither is going to crack the top prospect list immediately, but both still provide more options. The Braves currently have zero first basemen among their top-30 prospects, and Matt Olson hasn’t missed a game since joining the team. 

It’ll be a while before we see what his prospects are, but the Braves saw something and took a flyer on the 23-year-old Auburn first baseman.

More From Atlanta Braves on SI