With the 22nd pick in the first round of Sunday’s 2022 MLB Draft, Oregon State ace Cooper Hjerpe has been drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals.

He becomes the program’s 13th first-round selection in the MLB Draft and the first pitcher taken in the opening frame since Drew Rasmussen in 2017. Hjerpe is also the 11th Beaver to be selected by St. Louis, the first since Dylan Pearce in 2019.

A Capay, California, native, Hjerpe was named the National Pitcher of the Year by multiple awarding bodies in 2022. He finished the season with an 11-2 record and 2.53 ERA, striking out a school-record 161 batters—which led the nation—in just 103 1/3 innings of work.

For helping the Beavers to a 48-win campaign, a one-time No. 1 ranking in the Baseball America Top 25, and a spot in the Super Regionals, Hjerpe was named a unanimous first-team All-American. He’s the second Oregon State pitcher to achieve that honor.

Hjerpe was also a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy, which are both given annually to the nation’s best player.

In 41 career appearances for the Beavers—33 starts—Hjerpe posted a 15-9 record with a 3.37 ERA. He struck out 275 batters in 192 1/3 innings, the fifth-most in program history. Opponents managed just a .197 batting average against him, including a .180 mark in 2022.