Chandler Simpson

Simpson attended St. Pius X High School in Georgia, hitting .450 as a senior in 2019. He received one offer to play college baseball at the NCAA Division I level, from the University of Alabama, Birmingham (UAB). During the 2019 summer after graduating from high school, but before attending UAB, Simpson played for the Brookhaven Bucks in the Sunbelt Baseball League. He helped the Bucks win a second consecutive league championship, leading the team in batting average (.402), triples (4), and On Base Percentage (.471). He entered his true freshman season as the starting shortstop for the UAB Blazers, and played 14 games before it was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic. Simpson batted .288 and stole 24 bases in 27 attempts as a redshirt freshman. After the season he transferred to Georgia Tech to play for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. In his only season playing for the Yellow Jackets, Simpson led Division I with a .434 batting average. In 2021, he played summer league baseball for the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders of the Northwoods League. After the 2022 season he played with the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League. ==Professional career==

The Tampa Bay Rays selected Simpson in the Competitive Balance section of the second round of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft. He was assigned to the Florida Complex League Rays after signing with the team and batted .370 with eight stolen bases in eight attempts in eight games played. Simpson split the 2023 season between the Single-A Charleston RiverDogs and High-A Bowling Green Hot Rods. In 115 appearances for the two affiliates, he batted .293/.373/.345 with no home runs, 31 RBI, and a league-leading 94 stolen bases (tied with Victor Scott II). In 2024, Simpson made 110 appearances split between Bowling Green and the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits, batting a combined .355/.410/.397 with one home run, 29 RBI, and a league-leading 104 stolen bases (becoming the first player since Billy Hamilton in 2012 to achieve the feat). Simpson began the 2025 season with the Triple-A Durham Bulls. On April 18, 2025, Simpson was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. On July 19, Simpson extended a hitting streak to 18 consecutive games, which set a new standard for Rays rookies, beating Rocco Baldelli and Delmon Young who had previously held the mark at 13. ==International career==

Simpson was named to the United States national baseball team for the 2024 WBSC Premier12. He batted .459 with 17 hits in 37 at-bats. Simpson was named to the All-World Team as an outfielder, and led the tournament in hits and stolen bases (7). ==References==