The Red Sox have selected University of Virginia catcher Kyle Teel with the No. 14 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft.

Teel, the reigning ACC Player of the Year, was widely regarded as the best catcher in the draft and as a top 10 prospect in his class. He was ranked No. 7 on MLB Pipeline’s pre-draft rankings and No. 10 by Baseball America, and scouts have praised his athleticism, arm strength and offensive acumen.

“A 6-foot-1, 190-pound left-handed hitter, Teel has plenty of bat speed and takes extremely aggressive, violent hacks with plenty of moving parts in his setup,” writes Baseball America. “He has a large leg kick with a significant hand hitch in his load, but has also developed a solid track record of both contact and on-base skills.”

The 21-year-old Teel is coming off a fantastic junior season in which he batted .407 with an 1.130 OPS, 13 home runs and 25 doubles for the Cavaliers. He also served as Team USA’s catcher in the summer of 2022 and was considered a top 100 prospect out of high school before he withdrew from draft consideration.

Teel’s selection also breaks the Red Sox recent trend of selecting high school shortstops in the first round. He is also the first college player taken in the first round under Chaim Bloom and the first for the Red Sox in general since Tanner Houck was taken in the first round in 2017.

This is a developing story. Check back for further updates.