Dodgers draft pick's college football journey hit major roadblock with surgery news

University of Missouri pitcher Sam Horn signed an overslot deal with the Dodgers worth $497,500 after they drafted him in the 17th round this year, but his signing came with a caveat. Horn was finishing up his junior year at Missouri as a redshirt junior, and he would see the year through as he competed for a starting quarterback role.

Horn had only pitched 15 innings in three college seasons and underwent Tommy John in 2024, but the Dodgers were clearly still invested in him — enough to not only give him a lot more money than a 17th-round pick typically earns, and enough to potentially let him delay his professional baseball career.

However, during Mizzou's first game of the season, he sustained a knee injury and was immediately put in a cast. At the time, head coach Eli Drinkwitz declined to weigh in on whether or not it would be season-ending.

ESPN's Pete Thamel followed up with the bad news on Wednesday, reporting that Horn had undergone surgery to repair a fracture tibia, which will keep him out of the rest of the 2025 football season.

Dodgers 17th-round pick, Missouri quarterback Sam Horn undergoes season-ending tibia surgery

The Dodgers gave Horn a lot of leverage when they signed him, but reportedly didn't mind doing so, given how low he went in the draft. Horn put off his professional baseball career for a year and could've done so again if he'd become Missouri's starting QB in 2026. However, the Dodgers remained optimistic that Horn would be reporting to minor league camp in the spring.

It seems that they bet correctly. Horn no longer has the opportunity to compete for a starting gig in football, so he could commit himself entirely to baseball and be ready to make his professional debut in the minors as soon as he's recovered from surgery.

The Dodgers' interest in Horn is longstanding; scouts approached him as a high school pitcher. They must've have been incredibly convinced by what they saw to allow him to keep a foot in both worlds as long as he has.

Horn's agent Mark Rodgers told the Washington Post in late August: "If or when you decide to play one sport, we want it to be for organic reasons. Either you choose one sport or you're forced to choose, or something happens that you're ready to pick between the two." The article's author, Jesse Dougherty, ended his piece with, "That just hasn't happened yet."

Less than three weeks later, it certainly seems like it's happening.