Southern Miss right-handed pitcher Niko Mazza (Madison, Miss.) and outfielder Dalton McIntyre (Jackson, Tenn.) will each begin their respective professional baseball careers this summer after recently signing professional contracts.

Both were taken in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft earlier this month with Mazza taken in the eighth round (pick No. 238) by the San Francisco Giants, while McIntyre went in the 19th round (pick No. 581) to the Atlanta Braves.

In three seasons for the Golden Eagles, Mazza posted a 14-5 record with a 4.17 ERA. This past spring, he earned second-team All-Sun Belt Conference honors and was a NCAA Knoxville Regional all-tournament team pick. Mazza appeared in 18 games with 16 starts and recorded a 9-3 record with a 3.99 ERA to go along with 95 strikeouts and just 36 walks in 90 1/3 innings of work.

In his one season with the Golden Eagles, McIntyre led the squad in hitting with a .388 average to go along with 12 doubles, a triple, two home runs and 34 RBI. A finalist for the 2024 Boo Ferriss Trophy for top collegiate baseball player in the state of Mississippi, McIntyre earned second-team All-Sun Belt and second team ABCA All-South team honors. His batting average, which totaled 92 hits including 31 infield singles, was the highest since Luke Reynolds hit .389 during the 2018 season. The Golden Eagles also posted a 29-6 record when he scored at least once in a game.

Currently, Southern Miss has 19 former players participating in professional baseball with three currently in the Major Leagues – Chuckie Robinson (C, Chicago White Sox), Nick Sandlin (RHP, Cleveland Guardians) and Matt Wallner (OF, Minnesota Twins).