Carson Benge

Carson Benge
Benge with the Mets in 2026
New York Mets – No. 3
Outfielder
Born: (2003-01-20) January 20, 2003 (age 23)
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
MLB debut
March 26, 2026, for the New York Mets
MLB statistics
(through 2026 season)
Batting average.282
Home runs20
Runs batted in65
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams

Carson Grant Benge (/bɛndʒ/ BENJ; born January 20, 2003) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball as an outfielder and pitcher for the Oklahoma State Cowboys. He was selected by the Mets in the first round of the 2024 MLB draft and made his MLB debut in 2026.

Amateur career

Benge attended Yukon High School in Yukon, Oklahoma, where he played baseball. He committed to play college baseball at Oklahoma State University prior to his senior year. As a senior in 2021, Benge pitched to an 8–1 record with 124 strikeouts alongside batting .490. He went unselected in the 2021 Major League Baseball draft and enrolled at Oklahoma State.

Benge redshirted and did not appear in a game in 2022 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He made his collegiate debut in 2023, pitching to a 6.69 ERA over 35 innings and appearing in 59 games primarily in right field. He batted .345 with seven home runs and 43 RBIs. That summer, he briefly played for the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod Baseball League. Benge entered the 2024 season as a top prospect for the upcoming draft. Over 61 games, he hit .335 with 18 home runs and 64 RBIs alongside posting a 3.16 ERA over 37 innings.

Professional career

Minor leagues

The New York Mets selected Benge in the first round with the 19th overall pick of the 2024 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the Mets on July 23 for $4 million, and confirmed that he would focus solely on playing outfield as opposed to continuing to be a two-way player.

Benge with the Mets in 2026

After signing, Benge made his professional debut with the Single-A St. Lucie Mets, hitting .273 with two home runs over 15 games. He was assigned to the High-A Brooklyn Cyclones to open the 2025 season. In June, Benge was promoted to the Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies. He was also selected to represent the Mets (alongside Jonah Tong) at the 2025 All-Star Futures Game at Truist Park. In August, he was promoted to the Triple-A Syracuse Mets. After four games with Syracuse, he was placed on the injured list but returned to play shortly. Over 116 games between the three affiliates, Benge hit .281 with 15 home runs, 73 RBI and 22 stolen bases. He was named the Mets Minor League Player of the Year.

Major leagues

On March 23, 2026, the Mets announced that Benge had made the team's Opening Day roster. He made his Major League debut on March 26 against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the Mets' home opener, hitting a home run off Justin Lawrence for his first major league hit. On May 13, Benge hit his first career walk-off RBI off of Detroit Tigers pitcher Drew Anderson in the 10th inning, giving the Mets a 3–2 victory. Against the San Diego Padres on June 7, he tallied five hits, which included a home run and his first career triple. On September 19, during a 10–3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, Benge recorded his 156th hit of the season, surpassing Pete Alonso for the most hits by a Met in their rookie season. Benge hit his 20th home run of the season off of Andrew Alvarez on September 25 against the Washington Nationals, becoming the first rookie in Mets history to have a 20–20 season and the 18th overall in MLB history.

Benge played in 156 games for the Mets in 2026, slashing .282/.346/.430 with 20 home runs, 22 stolen bases, 86 runs scored, and 65 RBI. After the season, he was named a finalist for the Gold Glove Award for National League right fielders.

Personal life

Benge is a Cherokee Nation citizen. Benge's older brother, Garrett, was drafted in the 2017 Major League Baseball draft in the 13th round by the Boston Red Sox.

References

  1. ↑ New York Mets roster, updated as of 25 March 2026. Retrieved 26 March 2026.
  2. ↑ Jackson, James D. (March 27, 2021). "High school baseball: OSU signee Benge hopes to be first of his brothers to win a state title". The Oklahoman.
  3. ↑ Jackson, James (June 30, 2020). "OSU baseball: Yukon's Carson Benge commits to Cowboys". The Oklahoman.
  4. ↑ Jackson, James D. (June 20, 2021). "Meet The Oklahoman's 2021 All-City baseball team". The Oklahoman.
  5. ↑ Unruh, Jacob. "Oklahoma State baseball rewind: Two-way stars Nolan McLean, Carson Benge lead perfect week". The Oklahoman.
  6. ↑ Wright, Scott. "Oklahoma State baseball pitching rotation still a work in progress entering 2024 season". The Oklahoman.
  7. ↑ Flaherty, Peter (January 29, 2024). "2024 College Top 25 Preview: No. 21 Oklahoma State". Baseball America.
  8. ↑ "Carson Benge - Cape Cod Baseball League - player". Pointstreak Sports Technologies.
  9. ↑ Seifert, David. "Florida's Jac Caglianone leads two-way 2024 MLB Draft prospects, according to D1Baseball". www.ncaa.com.
  10. ↑ Lockard, Melissa. "Can MLB draft prospect Carson Being be baseball's next two-way star?". The New York Times.
  11. ↑ DiComo, Anthony (July 15, 2024). "Carson Benge drafted No. 19 by Mets in 2024 MLB Draft". MLB.com. Retrieved March 26, 2026.
  12. ↑ DiComo, Anthony (July 25, 2024). "Mets sign 1st-rounder Benge, now a full-time OF in pros". MLB.com. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  13. ↑ Rocke, Justin (April 1, 2025). "Seven Top 30 Prospects Highlight Cyclones' 2025 Preliminary Roster". milb.com. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
  14. ↑ "OF Carson Benge, IF Jacob Reimer Promoted to Double-A Binghamton". milb.com. June 23, 2025. Retrieved June 23, 2025.
  15. ↑ "Team-by-team breakdown of every player headed to Futures Game". MLB.com. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
  16. ↑ Stepien, Garrett (August 10, 2025). "Mets promote top prospects Jonah Tong, Jett Williams, Carson Benge, Ryan Clifford to Triple-A". SNY. Retrieved March 24, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Mets' Carson Benge: Lands on IL at Triple-A". CBSSports.com. August 18, 2025. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
  18. ↑ Martin, Colin (September 21, 2025). "Mets prospects Jett Williams, Ryan Clifford, Carson Benge all homer in season finale for Triple-A Syracuse". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
  19. ↑ "MSN". www.msn.com. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
  20. ↑ DiComo, Anthony. "Carson Benge makes Mets' Opening Day roster". MLB. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  21. ↑ Castillo, Jorge (March 23, 2026). "Mets phenom Carson Benge to start in right field". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 24, 2026.
  22. ↑ Werle, Andy. "Carson Benge's first hit is his first HR -- and the Mets' first HR of the year". MLB. Retrieved March 26, 2026.
  23. ↑ "Rookie gets revenge! Benge makes up for early miss with first career walk-off". MLB.com. Retrieved May 15, 2026.
  24. ↑ Mastracco, Abbey; read, New York Daily News·5 min (June 8, 2026). "Carson Benge records five-hit game as Mets win series vs. Padres". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved June 8, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  25. ↑ "Benge passes Alonso to become Mets' new rookie hit king". MLB.com. Retrieved September 23, 2026.
  26. ↑ "Benge powers ROTY case, becomes 1st Mets rookie to join 20-20 club". MLB.com. Retrieved September 28, 2026.
  27. ↑ "Carson Benge Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News". MLB.com. Retrieved September 28, 2026.
  28. ↑ "2026 Gold Glove Award finalists revealed". MLB.com. Retrieved October 23, 2026.
  29. ↑ "CN citizen Carson Benge selected in first round of MLB draft by New York Mets". Cherokee Phoenix. July 19, 2024. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  30. ↑ Jones, Jack (December 21, 2020). "Following Family: Carson Benge's Journey to Two-Way Success". Oklahoma State University Athletics. Retrieved November 18, 2025.