The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the first overall pick.

Gerrit Alan Cole is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros. Cole played for the baseball team at Orange Lutheran High School, and was selected by the Yankees in the first round of the 2008 MLB Draft. Cole opted not to sign, and instead attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he played college baseball for the UCLA Bruins.