FORT WORTH, Texas — Santa Clara University third baseman Robert Hipwell was selected Monday in the sixth round of the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft by an organization very familiar to both him and the Broncos, the San Francisco Giants just up the Peninsula.
 
The Giants made Hipwell the 13th pick in the sixth round and the 178th pick overall on day two of the draft, being held at the Cowtown Coliseum, just down the road from the 2024 All-Star Game festivities being held in Arlington, Texas. Hipwell grew up a Giants fan in Santa Cruz, Calif., attending games at Oracle Park.

Now, he has the chance to play there some day.

"Being selected to play professionally had always been a dream of mine," said Hipwell. "I would always talk jokingly about being on the Giants and the stars aligned and I actually got picked by them. I am beyond happy and grateful for all that has happened at Santa Clara and it is a dream come true."
 
Hipwell is the Broncos' second top-10-round draft pick in as many years. Right-handed pitcher Skylar Hales was selected last year in the fourth round by the eventual World Series champion Texas Rangers. Hipwell marks the fourth draft pick in the top-10 rounds during Santa Clara head coach Rusty Filter's seven-year tenure. Right-handed pitcher Steven Wilson (eighth round) and infielder Jake Brodt (ninth round) were both drafted in 2018, Filter's first season with the program.
 
Hipwell was an offensive threat and on-base juggernaut all throughout his three seasons with the program after joining in 2022. He posted a career .620 slugging percentage with a .462 on-base percentage and a 20.98% walk rate on 64 career walks in 76 total appearances. He started 62 games as a Bronco at a multitude of positions: 35 at third base, 13 at designated hitter, 11 at first base, and three in right field. He hit 18 career home runs, 18 doubles, one triple, drove in 52 RBIs, scored 61 runs and stole three bases. His 14 home runs in 2023 were tied for ninth all-time in a single season at Santa Clara.
 
The San Francisco Giants and Santa Clara Broncos baseball organizations have a storied history together. The Giants have selected Broncos eight previous times in the draft, the last coming in 2015 with Jose Vizcaino being selected in the seventh round. At least 22 Broncos have played for the Giants franchise, whether they were drafted by them or not, dating all the way back to the club's beginnings in New York. The most recent former Bronco to play in the Orange and Black was Mitchell White, who appeared in three games this season. The Santa Clara program and the Giants used to play an annual pro-am exhibition from 1963-80 on campus at Buck Shaw Stadium.
 
The 2024 MLB Draft continues at 11 a.m. PDT Wednesday with rounds 11 through 20, where more draft-eligible Broncos will wait to hear their names called. The most Broncos ever selected in a single draft is six, occurring three different times in 1984, '67 and '66.