SIOUX CITY EXPLORERS PRESS RELEASE
Phone: 817.739.3693
Website: xsbaseball.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 18, 2025
EXPLORERS WELCOME BACK DRURY
LEFTY SET TO LEAD ROTATION IN 2025
SIOUX CITY, IA – The Sioux City Explorers have announced that the club has signed left-handed pitcher Austin Drury, marking the return of a key piece of the 2023 and 2024 starting rotation for the 2025 season. The addition of the Florida native will be the third time he has been a part of the Explorers pitching staff, and he will bring his productive pedigree and playoff success as a starter on the mound to Sioux City once again. Drury is the 11th pitcher that the Explorers have inked in the offseason and the 21st overall addition to the roster.
Austin Drury returns to Sioux City for his third season with a career record of 9-10 in partner league ball with a 4.38 ERA in 36 starts. He has tossed 199.1 career innings for the Explorers, adding 192 strikeouts with a 1.425 WHIP. Drury has also shined bright in the postseason for the X’s. In three playoff starting nods, Drury is 2-0 in 16.2 innings with 16 punchouts, surrendering three earned runs on 14 hits with a 1.67 ERA.
In 2024 Drury began the season in Mexico; he made six starts for Leon, going 1-4 in 20.1 innings and surrendering 34 hits and 25 earned runs. He would walk 15 and strike out 16 and post a 11.07 ERA. He would make one start for Oaxaca, working in two innings and allowing three earned runs with two strikeouts. The Explorers would add Drury on June 4, 2024 where he would finish 4-5 with a 5.10 ERA. He finished second on the club with 90 innings and tied for second with 16 starts in 2024. He surrendered 51 earned runs on 96 hits with 36 walks and 94 strikeouts. Drury finished the regular season with 1.467 WHIP.
Drury made his first start of 2024 on June 4 at Fargo-Moorhead in a hard-luck 6-5 loss after striking out seven in six innings. He would rebound and pick up a 7-4 win on June 9 at home over Lake Country. The “portsider” worked 5.1 innings with one earned run and another seven strikeouts to strike out 14 in his first 11.1 innings. He would go on to average 9.4 strikeouts per nine innings for the season. Drury recorded his first quality start—six innings of three earned runs or fewer—on July 8 in a tough 3-2 loss at Fargo-Moorhead. He would close out July and set the tone for a strong finish with a six-inning, two-earned-run performance in a win on the 25th on the road at Cleburne. Drury allowed a total of 16 runs over his last 51 innings in the last eight games to finish with a 2.82 ERA with 49 strikeouts in that span. The final outing in the last eight games included a three-hit performance where he gave up one earned run in a no decision in the X’s 2-1 setback during game one of the American Association Division playoff series at Fargo-Moorhead on September 4.
Drury would also be added to the Team USA roster for the 2024 Premier 12 tournament where the Americans finished third in the competition. He made two relief appearances for Team USA. He came in for the first time on November 11 against Venezuela with the US trailing 5-3 in the eighth inning. Drury faced Major League veterans Alexi Amarista, Carlos Perez and Ramon Flores and set them all down in order. Drury then faced Japan on November 21 in Tokyo in his second outing, and he allowed a single and hit a batter with one inherited runner scoring after he was relieved with one out.
The 2023 season was much like the 2024 campaign for Drury. The native of Tampa once again was fantastic down the stretch for the Explorers, winning four straight starts to close out the season. That four-game stretch included a pair of solid outings in the playoffs. He finished the regular season with back-to-back quality starts on August 24 and 30, giving up just one earned run in 12 innings with 12 strikeouts. In the postseason he picked up two more wins, beating the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks on September 6 in Fargo—going five innings and allowing one earned run on nine hits—then beating the Kansas City Monarchs on September 11—giving up one earned run on two hits over 5.2 innings. Drury added another 12 strikeouts in the postseason. He finished strong overall in 2023 for Sioux City, allowing just seven earned runs over his final seven starts and totaling 39.1 innings with a 1.61 ERA during that stretch. Drury would go 5-5 overall during the regular season in 20 starts with a 3.78 ERA. He struck out 98 batters while walking 53 in 109.1 innings during the season.
The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Drury in the 34th round of the 2018 draft after three seasons at the University of North Florida, where he would go on to pitch in the Dodgers organization from 2018-22. He spent the entire 2022 season at AA Tulsa in the Texas League, tossing 37.1 innings with a 4.34 ERA with 30 strikeouts and a 2.089 WHIP. Drury would begin the 2021 season at High-A Great Lakes before his June promotion to AA Tulsa. While at Tulsa, he had a 4.53 ERA with 49 strikeouts over 43.2 innings. While at High-A Great Lakes, he posted a 3.00 ERA and 1.256 WHIP over 24.0 innings. Drury finished the season 6-2 overall with a 3.99 ERA in 67.2 innings combined for the season.
The 2020 season would be cancelled, but 2019 saw Drury split time at two levels of the Dodgers organization, both at the A level. He would be named to the Midwest League All-Star Team after going 1-1 with two saves in 26.1 relief innings at Great Lakes. He struck out 32 with a 2.39 ERA, yielding just seven earned runs before a promotion to High-A Rancho Cucamonga. Drury would earn one save and posted a 1-2 record in 24 games over 37.2 innings with a 3.58 ERA and 38 strikeouts on the season. He made his professional debut in 2018 with Odgen in the Pioneer League, surrendering three earned runs on 10 hits over 12 innings with a 1-0 record and a 2.25 ERA before a late July promotion to Great Lakes. Drury added another 17.2 innings in the Midwest League with a 3-1 record with one save and just one earned run allowed in his second rookie stop. He struck out 18 batters while giving up just eight hits with a 0.51 ERA. For the season Drury combined to pitch in 29.2 innings with a 1.21 ERA between rookie ball and Class-A after converting to a full-time reliever.
In his three seasons at the University of North Florida Drury pitched almost exclusively as a starter, starting 37 games of the 40 games that he appeared in for the Ospreys. He finished his career tied for second in the program in wins with 16. Drury finished his career with a 16-7 with a 3.94 ERA, pitching 214.2 innings with 167 strikeouts in 40 appearances. At the end of his 2016 freshman season for UNF, Drury was named to the Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American Team. Drury played high school ball at Wiregrass Ranch High School in Wesley Chapel, Florida where he was a four-year member of the baseball team.
Players signed 2025:
LHP Austin Drury
RHP Roy Garcia
IF Joshua Day
RHP Felix Cepeda
LHP Brendan O’Donnell
C Jake Meyer
RHP Heitor Tokar
IF Luis Toribio
IF Abdiel Layer
OF Jose Layer
OF Austin Davis
OF Zac Vooletich
LHP Miguel Pozo
OF Emilio Corona
C/1B Kurtis Byrne
LHP Chase Jessee
OF Henry George
RHP Jeremy Goins
LHP Jaren Jackson
RHP Ben Madison
The Explorers are set to open their 32nd season in the Siouxland on the road Thursday night, May 8, at 6:30 p.m. against the Kane County Cougars. The club will celebrate opening night at Lewis and Clark Park Friday night, May 16 at 7:05 p.m., against the Kansas City Monarchs. Ticket packages for the 2025 season are on-sale now, including Full and Half-Season Tickets as well as 10, 15 and 25-game Flex Packs. More information is available by calling the Explorers front office at 712-277-WINS. Stay tuned to the Explorers social media channels and the club’s website xsbaseball.com for off-season news and updates. The official podcast of the Explorers can be found online and tune into the live show on Facebook Live during the offseason for more news and Explorers content.