WKU pitcher Grant Burleson (26) delivers a pitch during an NCAA baseball game between the University of Louisville and Western Kentucky University on Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Bowling Green, Ky. WKU beat Louisville 3-2 in 10 innings. (AP Photo/James Kenney))

A trio of former Western Kentucky pitchers will get an opportunity to play at the professional level as former Hilltoppers Jacob Bimbi, Mason Burns and Grant Burleson were all selected on the final day of the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft on Tuesday.

Left-handed starting pitcher Jacob Bimbi was picked by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 11th round (No. 324 overall), right-handed relief ace Mason Burns was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 14th round (No. 411 overall) and righty swingman Grant Burleson was picked by the Houston Astros in the 18th round (No. 553 overall) on Tuesday.

Bimbi, Burns and Burleson become the second and third and fourth MLB draft picks from WKU under head coach Marc Rardin, who just completed his second season leading the program. Right-handed reliever CJ Weins was picked in the sixth round (No. 178 overall) by the Boston Red Sox in the 2023 MLB draft.

The three selections are the most for WKU in the MLB draft since 2011 and 2009, when the program had five players picked each year.

Bimbi joined the Tops for the 2024 season as a transfer from Tennessee. The native of Crystal Lake, Illinois, pitched in 15 games (14 starts) and compiled an earned run average of 6.09 over 54 2/3 innings. The 6-foot lefty struck out 71 batters and finished with a 4-2 record for WKU.

Burns, who spent twos seasons at WKU after transferring from Illinois State, set a new single-season program record with 15 saves this past season, breaking the record previously held by Ian Thompkins, who had 14 in the 2014 season. Burns’ 19 career saves are the second-most by a Hilltopper pitcher in program history.

The 6-3 right-hander from Bloomington, Illinois, earned American Baseball Coaches Association First Team All-Midwest Region honors, was named to the NCBWA All-American Third Team while also being recognized as a finalist for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award, an award given annually to the top relief pitcher in Division I baseball.

Burns finished the 2024 campaign with a 3-3 record, posting a 4.00 ERA with 52 strikeouts over 36 innings of work.

Burleson, a 6-3 right-hander, completed his junior as a valuable swingman for the Hilltoppers. Burleson appeared in 20 games, making four starts. He posted a 2-1 record with a 5.03 ERA. The native of Summertown, Tennessee, struck out 39 batters in 34 innings.