| Travis Bazzana | |
| Team: | Cleveland Guardians |
| Position: | Infielder |
| Birth Date: | 28 August 2002 |
| Birth Place: | Sydney, Australia |
| Bats: | Left |
| Throws: | Right |
| Awards: |
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Travis William Bazzana (born 28 August 2002) is an Australian professional baseball infielder in the Cleveland Guardians organization. He was drafted first overall in the 2024 MLB Draft by the Guardians.
Bazzana attended Turramurra High School in Sydney, Australia. At Turramurra, Bazzana played cricket as a wicketkeeper/opening batsman, and captained his team as they won their first ever New South Wales state championship.[1] He played for the Sydney Blue Sox of the Australian Baseball League from 2018 to 2021.[2] In 2019, he represented Australia in the 2019 U-18 Baseball World Cup.[3] In 2021, he played for the Corvallis Knights of the West Coast League.[4] He represented Australia again the 2022 U-23 Baseball World Cup.
As a freshman at Oregon State University in 2022, Bazzana hit .306/.425/.478 with six home runs and 44 runs batted in (RBI) over 245 at bats in 63 games. As a sophomore in 2023, he hit .374/.500/.622 with 11 home runs, 55 RBI and a school-record 36 stolen bases over 238 at bats in 61 games.[5] After the season, he played for the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod League, where he was named the MVP after hitting .375/.456/.581 with six home runs and 31 RBI.[6] [7] [8] In 2024, he led the Pac-12 Conference in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, home runs, walks and runs. His 26 home runs were a single-season school record and he also broke the school's career home run record that year. He was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year.[9]
Bazzana was selected first overall in the 2024 Major League Baseball draft,[10] becoming the first Australian first overall pick, first second-baseman first overall pick, as well as the second Oregon State Beaver to do so after Adley Rutschman in 2019. On July 19, 2024, Bazzana signed with Cleveland on an underslot contract worth $8.95 million.[11] He was assigned to the High-A Lake County Captains on July 26, 2024 and made his professional debut the same day.[12]