Rockford-area pitcher Mason Lei was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 13th round of the Major League Baseball Draft last weekend, going from Freeport to Rock Valley College to UIC, and now, to the majors.
“With what he’s been doing this year, this was no surprise. That kid is ready,” Freeport’s baseball head coach since 2017 Shaun Dascher said. “There’s still a lot of work to do, but Mason has never been afraid of that.”
Lei agreed with that assessmen from his former coach.
“This is such a big moment,” Lei said midweek during a phone interview from Fort Meyers, Florida, the home of the Red Sox rookie complex. “I am so ready to go to work and get it done.”
Byron’s Braden Smith went to Baltimore in the 15th round on Sunday, shortly after Lei was picked by Boston. They were both already at their new teams’ respective homes by the end of this week.
“Any spot to get drafted is good, and Mason knows that, and he’s ready,” Dascher said. “Now he has to really go out and prove himself. But he’s done that at every level, every step of the way.”
Lei was UIC’s Friday night starter in his only season with the Flames this spring. He made 16 starts and led the team with 96 2/3 innings, in which he had 86 strikeouts and just 19 walks. He tied for the Missouri Valley Conference lead with eight wins and was voted All-MVC First Team and MVC All-Tournament Team.
Now, he’s looking to make his dream come true.
“It still hasn’t quite hit me yet; even though I’m here,” he said. “But I’ll be ready for whatever they want from me first.”
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound right-hander pitched for two years at RVC, and he was 7-3 with 71 Ks in 59 innings as a senior in 2025. At Freeport, he was a first-team All NIC-10 player as a junior and senior, and a third-team PBR All State player as a senior.
Now, he’s awaiting orders from his first pro team.
“They may want me to just hit the training hard until next spring,” Lei said, “or they may have other ideas.”
He could get assigned to one of the Red Sox minor league teams, which starts with the Single-A Salem RidgeYaks in Salem, Virginia, as they head down the backstretch of their seasons.
Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and sign up for the Rockford High School Sports Newsletter here at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears and Blackhawks to local youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Former Freeport, RVC star Mason Lei gets drafted by Boston in 13th round
Reporting by Jay Taft, Rockford Register Star / Rockford Register Star
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By Jay Taft, Rockford Register Star | USA TODAY Network
