Learning From Teammate Nolan McLean, Former Oklahoma State Two-Way Standout Carson Benge Will Play Only Outfield in Pros

Carson Benge: outfielder.

Benge, a former two-way star for Oklahoma State, was drafted last week by the New York Mets in the first round of the MLB Draft. He pitched and played outfield for the Cowboys, but in his first trip to Citi Field on Thursday, Benge confirmed during a media scrum that he will play only outfield as a professional.

“We set in stone that I’m just going to be an outfielder from here on out,” Benge said. “Just gonna drop pitching, focus on trying to get me up here as quick as possible. See how that turns out. As hard as it is to do one thing, it’s double amount of hard to do both, so being able to stick with one should help me.”

When Benge first met with a group of reporters via Zoom shortly after getting drafted, he said he hoped to get the opportunity to try to be a two-player at the professional level. But 10 days later, he announced he’d be focusing on just one.

“Not really [it wasn’t a difficult decision],” Benge said. “I just wanna be able to get up here [to MLB], and if that’s gonna be the quickest way for me, then I’m OK with it.”

Benge posted a .335 average at the plate and 3.16 ERA on the mound this past season for the Cowboys. He was good enough to be named an All-American after the season and was also selected to the All-Big 12 First Team for the second time as an outfielder.

He excelled the most at the dish, though. Benge finished his final collegiate season tied third in the Big 12 in home runs (18), tied third in RBIs (64), third in hits (83) and fourth in slugging percentage (.665).

“I’d say I’m pretty good at both, but the stick is just a little bit better,” Benge said.

Benge wasn’t the first Cowboy to recently make the move from Stillwater to New York. Fellow former two-way player and teammate Nolan McLean was drafted by the Mets in 2022. McLean, though, pursued both hitting and pitching as a professional before recently focusing on pitching and putting away the bat.

Former roommates on college road trips, Benge and McLean had an instant connection, both as two-way players and both with red hair. That bond only grew through baseball and Rocket League, a video game. Even while Benge was on that first Zoom call with reporters just 30 minutes after getting drafted he admitted McLean was blowing his phone up, excited that a friend and former teammate was joining the same organization as him.

“He recently told me that he sat down the bat,” Benge said. “He said it was just really, really hard on his body. For me, I would at least like a shot — like to be able to do both, because why not, it’s there. Then if one or the other suffers or if my body just can’t handle it, then I’ll know it’s time to set down one or the other.”

McLean later joined the same Zoom call, confirming being only a pitcher is likely permanent for him. Unlike McLean, though, it looks as if Benge won’t get the chance to possibly develop into the next Shohei Ohtani for the Mets. It sounds as if that could have been possible, even if we’ll never know.

“I don’t think there’s anything Carson can’t do on a baseball field,” McLean said. “He can run, he can throw, he can really, really hit. I think he could play all nine positions if it really came down to it, so I think the Mets are getting a really complete player who has a super high ceiling. I think he’s just an all-around great player.”