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Draft | Story | 12/22/2025

2025 Year in Review: Draft

Tyler Henninger

Isaiah Burrows

Tyler Kotila

2025 Year in Review: Draft

We’ve reached the end of the 2025 calendar year, and while we’ve already jumped in on the 2026 cycle with some of the fall events and post-draft content we’ve had here at Perfect Game, there’s still one more piece on the docket, and that’s the 2025 Year-In-Review piece here from the PG Draft staff.

The 2025 MLB Draft took place in July, when many highly talented players heard their names called and continued their journey through the game to the next level. There’s already been some of those names making noise in the minors and guys who are moving up prospect lists and becoming names to know for MLB fans digging deep into the future of their organizations. While we are going to “close the book” on 2025 with this article, these players still have many years ahead of them, and many blank pages to continue writing their stories.

This cycle was interesting; it was not like some recent years, where it was a clear-cut 1:1 name for months leading up to the draft. Some players made some late pushes in performance, and organizations made some jumps that deviated from some folks' expectations, and come draft night, there was still some uncertainty on who would hear their name called first. Ultimately, Eli Willits was the first to hear his name called, as the Washington Nationals selected him with the first overall pick. Ethan Holliday, who was selected fourth overall by the Colorado Rockies, was our number one prospect on the draft board. Tyler Bremner and Kade Anderson, who were both in the first round bucket, moved up the board and heard their names called early on, shocking some.

Of the 615 players drafted, 460 were from four-year schools, 124 were from the prep/high school level, and 31 were from the JuCo level. Of all 615 players selected, 576 of those players have signed contracts with MLB organizations. 276 Right-handed pitchers were selected, 81 left-handed pitchers were selected, and three listed two-way players were a part of that group. The remaining 258-261(depending on how you count the TWP) were position players.

It was a surprising draft that featured unique storylines we’ll delve into below as we put a bow on the 2025 MLB Draft cycle and flip the calendar to 2026.

Willits and Bremner jump to the top of the board on draft day

The draft class this past year did not have a consensus top prospect from start to finish. Depending on who you talked to or a certain team’s philosophy, a lot of boards had different guys at the top. That was true all the way until the end. Come draft day, there was buzz that Eli Willits would jump up to 1:1. While very few had expected this throughout the cycle, we made the change to our board and put him at No. 1 on the final board because the buzz seemed real. It was. Willits was the first to hear his name called, something that was not expected most of the cycle. With the second pick, the Angels continued the trend of surprises by selecting Tyler Bremner. While Bremner started out at the No. 2 player on the board, he had slipped a little throughout the spring. The selection of Bremner was not one that we, or many people in the industry, expected. Taking underslot deals was obviously a big driving force in the two players jumping to the top of the board on draft day, but this year just goes to show that anything can happen all the way up until the end.

Prep shortstops shine as the strength of the class

The 2025 prep class was touted for its depth and talent on the dirt, and boy did this year’s shortstop crop live up to the hype. Led by Willits with the first pick, 11 high school shortstops led the way of the first 28 picks. Holliday, JoJo Parker, Billy Carlson, Steele Hall, Daniel Pierce and Kayson Cunningham were just some of the names that were selected in bunches. Brady Ebel, Cooper Flemming and Nicky Becker littered more of the Top 50 as prep shortstops were selected all over different rounds of the draft. This year’s crop in particular had a rare blend of offensive upside from both sides of the plate, crisp defense and high end athleticism that really shined. Looking back on this year’s class years down the road, don’t be surprised to see so many former prep shortstops locking down the six-hole for their respective organizations.

College arms consistently rise throughout the cycle

It was a really unique cycle in terms of the trends of the pitchers in this class. Every year, players pitch themselves up the board, some arms move down, and injuries are bound to happen, but it sure felt like this year there were some big changes. The biggest perhaps was LSU standout Kade Anderson. The southpaw was in the second-round bucket early on, and some thought we may have been high, but things ultimately changed as the spring unfolded. Anderson moved up boards, and his incredible finish to the 2026 season saw him move into the Top 10 and Top 5 on several industry boards. On draft night, he was the third player selected, taken by the Seattle Mariners. On top of that, Tyler Bremner was deemed a first-rounder early on, sputtered a bit out of the gate, but ultimately got back in the saddle and ended up being the second overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft. Tennessee southpaw Liam Doyle moved into the Top 5, being selected by the St. Louis Cardinals, and Kyson Witherspoon was selected 15th overall by the Boston Red Sox. While Jamie Arnold was one of the top names on the board all spring, he was another top-half first-round pick. Overall, it was a class full of movement, and the collegiate arms tended to be moving up the board with this group, and a lot of them heard their names called early on draft night.

Looking ahead to 2026

The draft class this coming year looks a little different than the 2025 class. The talent at the top is deeper and stronger. The prep class is one of the stronger classes we have seen in a long time, led by Grady Emerson and Jacob Lombard. The college class features an impressive group of bats at the top, a trio of potential top of the rotation arms, and maybe the best amateur prospect in two decades in Roch Cholowsky. Cholowsky has garnered rave reviews from the industry and has even been called the best amateur player they have seen by some scouts. While there is sure to be some changes to the board throughout the cycle, the 2026 class is gearing up to be an extremely fun group to watch and evaluate.

PG Draft Editor’s Note: Burrows to the Bigs’

While the 2025 calendar year comes to a close, we close the book on the 2025 cycle, look forward to 2026, but we will also see some change on the PG Draft Staff. One of our PG Draft Leads, Isaiah Burrows, has accepted a position to join the San Francisco Giants as an Area Scout. We’re absolutely pumped for Burrows, and expect great things from him in that role. In his time with Perfect Game, Burrows was one of the hardest-working guys on-staff, from running between fields at East Cobb in Georgia during a WWBA event or running around at the backfields in Arizona’s 110-degree heat, Burrows was always grinding. Between lengthy draft calls and debates over players, Burrows always was a huge piece of what we did, and I’ll certainly miss the fiery debates and board updates. We wish Burrows the best as he departs to join the Giants, at the change of the year.

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Draft | Story | 2/6/2026

PG Draft: Mid-Major Picks to Click

Tyler Henninger

While Power 4 prospects tend to soak up the bulk of the industry buzz, there’s plenty of legitimate talent lurking at the mid-major level. These are competitive programs that are loaded with players who have real tools, physicality, and performance track records that translate beyond their conference. Below are nine mid-major prospects we expect evaluators to be in early and often on this spring. Ethan Norby, LHP, East Carolina (Rank: 155) Norby is an undersized left-hander, but has produced strong numbers over two years at ECU. The left-hander has produced a 3.80 ERA with 182 strikeouts over 149 1/3 innings. While the velocity does not stand out, Norby can still miss bats with the heater. It works in the low-90’s and creeps towards 95 mph at times. Quality extension for his size and high spin allow that offering to get on hitters, resulting in weak contact as well as whiffs....

College | Story | 2/6/2026

Conference Preview: Ohio Valley

Kyler Peterson

College | Story | 2/6/2026

Conference Preview: Atlantic 10

Marcus Thomas

2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order Team W L W L Davidson 19 12 28 29 Dayton 14 16 27 31 Fordham 15 15 25 33 George Mason 20 10 40 21 George Washington 14 16 27 27 La Salle* - - - - Rhode Island 23 8 39 20 Richmond 14 16 33 19 St. Joseph’s 17 13 24 28 St. Louis ...

High School | General | 2/5/2026

Georgia Region Top Teams

Tyler Russo

Georgia All Region Team & Top Tools Rk School Record 1 Etowah 34-4 2 Blessed Trinity 34-9 3 Parkview 26-11 4 Houston County 33-7 5 Lowndes 28-13 6 Walton 34-8 7 Buford 25-9 8 Pope 31-5 9 North Cobb Christian 24-11-1 10 Harrison 23-14 11 Newnan 32-5 12 North Paulding 28-10 13 Marist 30-7 14 Cartersville 32-10 15 Denmark 19-14 16 North Oconee 27-8 17 Loganville 29-8 18 Morgan County 32-10 19 North Gwinnett 35-5 20 Carrollton 23-12 21 Troup County 32-9 22 Hillgrove 21-13 23 River Ridge 25-15 24 Pickens 32-7 25 McEachern 24-8

High School | General | 2/5/2026

Georgia HS All Region & Top Tools

David Rawnsley

Georgia has its usual depth of high-level athletes and Perfect Game All-Americans, although three 2027 players did make the All-Region team. There are an unusual number of two-way prospects among the All-Region players, a testament to the big arms that the state has right now. Two Georgia high schools are ranked in the top 10 of the PG Pre-Season High School Top 50 rankings and the Georgia high school ranks are annually among the most competitive in the country. Etowah is the highest ranked team at 5th overall, while Blessed Trinity Catholic checks in at 8th. Parkview is the only other Georgia team in the top 50, holding down the 34th spot. OF-RHP Dexter McCleon Jr will be fixture on the Georgia All-Region team for the next two years but the top ranked prospect in the 2028 class will have to take a back seat to his elders this year. McCleon’s absurd...

High School | Rankings | 2/4/2026

Florida Region Top Teams

Tyler Russo

Florida All Region Team & Top Tools Rk School Record 1 Stoneman Douglas 31-2 2 Tampa Jesuit 25-10 3 Trinity Christian Academy 30-5 4 South Walton 31-4 5 IMG Academy 24-1 6 Venice 29-5 7 Bishop Verot 32-3 8 American Heritage (Plantation) 29-6 9 St. Thomas Aquinas 29-6-1 10 Doral Academy Charter 27-8-1 11 North Broward Prep 23-8 12 Lincoln 24-11 13 Mater Academy 25-9-1 14 The First Academy 30-4 15 Alonso 21-13 16 St. John's Country Day 26-9 17 Bishop Snyder 23-8 18 Spruce Creek 30-4 19 Buchholz 33-3 20 Lake Mary 15-15 21 Miami Springs 28-3 22 Jupiter 25-10 23 Plant City 16-12 24 Berkeley Prep 25-10 25 Winter Park 25-6

College | Story | 2/4/2026

Conference Preview: Northeast

Jason Phillips

2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order* Team W L W L CCSU 23 7 31 17 Coppin State 13 17 15 34 Delaware State 6 24 7 34 FDU 16 14 16 37 LeMoyne 17 13 20 28 LIU 24 6 35 23 UMES 6 24 7 41 Mercyhurst 15 15 17 35 New Haven* 12 12 24 20 Norfolk State 4 26 4 38 Stonehill 18 12 20 32 Wagner 23 7 31 22 *Member Northeast-10 DII Preseason All Conference Team Pos. Name School Stats/Notes C Frankie Ferrentino CCSU .281-13-35, 9 2Bs, (Merrimack), Double digit HR all 3 years at Merrimack 1B Jayden Walker Mercyhurst .314-12-40, 10...

Press Release | Press Release | 2/4/2026

Baseball Meets Hollywood For Great Cause

Jim Salisbury

BASEBALL MEETS HOLLYWOOD FOR A GREAT CAUSE There’s no crying in baseball, but there is laughing, and there was lots and lots of it -- for a great cause -- last Saturday night in Hollywood, California. Perfect Game and its Believe in Baseball Foundation assembled a star-studded cast of comics and guests for the inaugural “In the Spirit of the Game” dinner and auction. The event was held at the iconic Laugh Factory, a historic venue that, in baseball terms, would be equivalent to Dodger Stadium or Wrigley Field. Late-night superstar Jay Leno took a turn on stage. So did comedic aces Tiffany Haddish, Nikki Glaser, Dustin Ybarra and Gary Cannon. “It was 4 ½ hours of straight laughter,” said PG commissioner Dennis Gilbert, still beaming a couple of days later. “It was a really nice success.” No one kept score at the event, but...

College | Story | 2/5/2026

Conference Preview: Western Athletic

Scott Rankin

2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order* Team W L W L Abilene Christian 34 23 15 9 Cal Baptist 30 27 12 12 Sacramento State 32 26 15 9 Tarleton State 24 32 12 12 UT Arlington 21 33 11 13 Utah Tech 24 31 9 15 Utah Valley 29 29 13 11 Preseason All-Conference Team Pos. Name School Stats/Notes C Mason Strong Utah Valley 1st team All-WAC in ‘25 hitting .366 and leading the conference in hits. Also hit 11 Home Runs 1B Grant Watkins Abilene Christian .292 with 14 Home Runs and drove in 48 runs in...

High School | General | 2/4/2026

West Region High School Sleepers

Joey Cohen

Talking and debating sleeper prospects might be my favorite part of scouting. It’s where context, projection, and conviction matter most—whether it’s an underrated performer who keeps producing on the circuit, a raw but explosive athlete you can dream on, or an arm with starter traits that hasn’t quite made the stuff jump yet. These are the players who tend to separate evaluators, reward patience, and make the spring HS season really fascinating. Below are several West Region prospects outside the T100 who fit that mold and deserve serious attention as the spring unfolds. Jet Berry, Queen Creek HS, Arizona There’s a lot to like with Berry. He’s one of the more explosive, twitchy athletes in the country, and it shows consistently in all facets of his game. From a tools perspective his easy plus run and bat-to-ball ability stand out. He’s been a...

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