TEMPE, Ariz. -- Arizona State's Brandon Magee agreed Thursday to a contract with the Boston Red Sox, who drafted the two-sport athlete in the 23rd round of the MLB draft last month, but the senior will not be leaving school and will complete his final year of eligibility with the ASU football program.
Magee, who is entering his fifth season with the football team after redshirting last year due to a torn Achilles tendon, was a three-year letterman with the baseball team from 2009-11 and was chosen with the 721st overall pick by the Red Sox. He appeared in more than 25 games and made three starts as an outfielder, and the Sun Devils made two College World Series appearances during his career.
Magee, who has described baseball as his "first love," has never been able to concentrate
on the game -- during fall practice or the spring season -- because of
his football commitments. He has seen only sparse action for the Sun Devils, mostly as a
pinch hitter -- thus his .103 average with 22 strikeouts in 29 at-bats.
His football stats are more impressive. Prior to sitting out for all of the 2011 season, Magee started 11 of 12 games in 2010 en route to a career-high 73 tackles and 1.5 sacks. He recorded a season-high 13 tackles in a 30-29 double-overtime win over Arizona in Tucson. Magee appeared in all 12 games as a sophomore in 2009, finishing with 34 tackles, seven tackles for loss and a pair of sacks, and he played in eight games as a reserve linebacker and on special teams as a freshman in 2008.
The Red Sox were the third MLB team to draft Magee, as he was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 29th round (863rd overall) of the 2008 draft and by the Oakland A's in the 21st round (646th overall) in the 2011 draft.
