Dylan Dodd’s next step of his professional journey is complete.

Dodd, a member of the Kankakee Community College baseball team in 2017 and 2018, was informed Sunday he earned a spot on the Atlanta Braves’ opening day roster.

The Braves announced Dodd will open the season as a member of the team’s starting rotation and will make his first start when the Braves visit the St. Louis Cardinals on April 4. The third-round 2021 draft pick made five spring training appearances, including three starts, and posted a 1-0 record after allowing four earned runs on 15 hits and 20 strikeouts in 18 innings.

The 6-foot-3 left-hander was selected 96th overall by the Braves, becoming the highest KCC draft pick since Bradley native and 17-year MLB veteran Tom Prince was taken 64th overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1984.

The southpaw, who was the ace of the Cavaliers’ 2017 team that finished third place at the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II World Series, began the 2022 season at Class High A Rome before eventually working his way all the way up to Class AAA Gwinnett by the end of the year.

During two seasons in the minors, Dodd has compiled a 12-11 record in 30 starts (156 innings). His minor league earned run average is 3.87, and he’s allowed 155 hits with a 5.08 strikeout to walk ratio (173 strikeouts, 34 walks).

After two seasons at KCC, Dodd enjoyed a three-year career at Southeast Missouri State University, where he developed into the program’s ace by 2021, posting a 9-2 record and 3.17 ERA in 96 2/3 innings.

Dodd will be joined locally in the majors by 2014 Bradley-Bourbonnais graduate Colin Holderman, a second-year right-handed relief pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Brent Headrick, a 2016 Reed-Custer graduate, is on the 40-man roster for the Minnesota Twins as a left-handed pitcher, which makes him eligible for the Twins’ big-league roster. Headrick competed as high as Class AA last season and has made three appearances for Minnesota this spring. He’s totaled seven innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits and 10 strikeouts.

Tyler Stuart, a 2018 Herscher graduate, is in the New York Mets farm system, finishing 2022 with Class A St. Lucie. Stuart was not a part of the Mets’ major league spring training but will begin his 2023 season next month.