Lonnie White Jr. drafted by Pirates: What it means for Penn State Football
Penn State football 2021 signee Lonnie White Jr. was drafted 64th overall in the Major League Baseball draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday.
The 4-star wide receiver from Malvern Prep was a key member of Penn State Football’s 2021 recruiting class, along with 4-star offensive lineman Landon Tengwall and 4-star cornerback Kalen King.
It now looks like White may begin a minor league baseball career, instead.
The slot value for the 64th pick in the MLB draft is $1.05 million. The Pirates can give White more or less than that recommended amount. They will likely have to pay more to keep White away from Penn State Football.
The Pirates owned the first pick in the draft, giving them the largest money pool of any team in the draft. They also used the first overall pick on Henry Davis, who was not projected to go that high, so the Pirates may be able to save some money there.
Ironically, White was not the only high-profile college football recruit drafted by the Pirates. Clemson quarterback commit Bubba Chandler was drafted eight spots behind White.
It looks like the Pirates will attempt to use the money they will likely save by drafting Davis to sign the two football standouts away from their commitments.
Tom VanHaaren of ESPN reported that Chandler is likely to sign with the Pirates.
Bubba Chandler, who signed as a four-star quarterback with Clemson in the last class, told me he is planning to sign with the Pirates after being selected in the third round of the MLB draft.
— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) July 12, 2021
White has not signed yet, but there will likely be a decision made within the next two weeks. The Pirates clearly felt good about their ability to sign White considering how high they took him.
There are pros and cons to either option and that is something that White and his family will have to discus. At the end of the day, there really is no wrong answer and White is in a win-win situation.
If White was to pick baseball, it would be another blow to Penn State’s 2021 class. The Nittany Lions struggled during the cycle and missed out on numerous top targets, with some from their own back yard.
The 2021 class has already seen some attrition with offensive lineman Nate Bruce no longer with the program.
Head coach James Franklin and wide receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield were aware of the possibility that White would never make it to Happy Valley, so they wisely found Harrison Wallace late in the 2021 cycle and flipped the wide out from Duke.