PRINCETON, N.J. – Former Princeton baseball standout Scott Bandura ’23 is set to make his Major League Baseball debut Sunday, Sept. 13, as he is in the starting lineup for the San Francisco Giants against the San Diego Padres.
Bandura becomes the latest Princeton baseball alum to reach the Major Leagues and the first Tiger to make an MLB appearance since Matt Bowman, who pitched for the Baltimore Orioles in 2025.
Bandura was originally selected by the San Francisco Giants in the seventh round of the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft with the 210th overall pick. He became the first Princeton player selected in the MLB Draft since Ben Gross was selected by the Houston Astros in 2018. Gross did not sign with Houston and was later selected by the Minnesota Twins in 2019 following a graduate season at Duke.
The selection made Bandura the 50th Princeton Tiger selected in the MLB Draft and the highest Princeton selection since Will Venable was taken by the San Diego Padres in the seventh round with the 218th overall pick in 2005. Only eight players in Princeton history had been selected higher than Bandura.
Bandura’s selection followed an historic junior season with the Tigers in 2023. He posted a .363/.454/.665 slash line in 47 games, hitting 12 home runs and driving in 45 runs. He led Princeton in runs (46), triples (three), slugging percentage, stolen bases (15), total bases (121) and on-base percentage.
His 121 total bases set a Princeton program record, while his 46 runs are tied for the second-most in program history. His 28 extra-base hits rank second all-time, while his .665 slugging percentage ranks third and his 45 RBI rank seventh in Princeton history.
Since beginning his professional career, Bandura has continued to make his mark in the Giants organization. With the Sacramento River Cats, San Francisco’s Triple-A affiliate, Bandura put together one of the strongest stretches of his professional career.
Bandura reached base safely in 31 consecutive games from June 16 through August 2, the longest on-base streak by a River Cat since David Villar’s 34-game streak from May 31 through August 18, 2024.
He also recorded a 13-game hitting streak from July 17-31, tied for the second-longest hitting streak by a River Cat this season. During the streak, Bandura hit .434 (23-for-53) with three doubles, three home runs, 14 RBI, 10 walks and four stolen bases, posting a .516 on-base percentage and a 1.176 OPS.
Bandura also homered in consecutive games on July 30-31, marking the first time in his professional career that he hit a home run in back to back games.
As of August 18, Bandura led the River Cats with 14 multi-RBI games and ranked second on the team with 23 multi-hit games.
Bandura’s MLB debut adds another chapter to a Princeton career that established him among the program’s all-time offensive performers and continues a long tradition of Tigers reaching the highest level of professional baseball.
