Major League Baseball has completed the first day of the 2025 Draft, which aired live on MLB Network and ESPN this evening in Atlanta, Georgia at the Coca-Cola Roxy. In total, 105 players were selected during the first three rounds, compensatory rounds, competitive balance rounds and prospect promotion incentive selections. The Draft will resume at 11:30 a.m. (ET) on Monday, July 14th with the first pick in Round 4, and will continue through the end of the Draft exclusively on MLB.com.
The Washington Nationals selected Eli Willits out of Fort Cobb-Broxton High School (OK) with the first overall pick in the Draft. Willits is the 13th shortstop taken with the first overall pick in the Draft and the first since the Baltimore Orioles selected Jackson Holliday with the first overall pick in 2022. Willits joined Stephen Strasburg (2009) and Bryce Harper (2010) as the only number one overall picks in Nationals’ history. Per Elias, Willits (17.216) is the third-youngest player taken in the Draft, following Tim Foli’s (17.180) selection in 1989 and Ken Griffey Jr.’s (17.193) selection in 1987. Willits is the son of Reggie Willits, who was selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the seventh round of the 2003 Draft.
Three sets of teammates were taken within the first 20 picks of the Draft including University of Tennessee teammates Liam Doyle (5th OVR, STL), Gavin Kilen (13th, SF) and Andrew Fisher (20th, MIL); Corona High School teammates Seth Hernandez (8th, PIT) and Billy Carlson (10th, CWS); and Wake Forest teammates Marek Houston (16th, MIN) and Ethan Conrad (17th, CHC). Fisher and Hernandez became the first set of high school teammates to be selected within the first 10 picks of a Draft and it marks the third consecutive year in which a set of teammates were selected within the top-10, joining Wake Forest University teammates Chase Burns (2nd), Nick Kurtz (4th) and Seaver King (10th) in 2024; and Louisiana State University teammates Paul Skenes (1st) and Dylan Crews (2nd) in 2023. Additionally, Fisher and Hernandez became the eighth set of high school teammates to be drafted in the first round in the same year, marking the first since Max Fried (7th) and Lucas Giolito (16th) out of Harvard-Westlake High School in the 2012 Draft. It is the third consecutive year that at least one pair of teammates have been selected back-to-back in the first round, joining Florida State University teammates James Tibbs (13th) and Cam Smith (14th) in 2024; and Skenes and Crews in 2023.
Four selections among tonight’s first 43 picks announced live from the stage at the Coca-Cola Roxy in Atlanta are alumni of MLB Develops programming led by MLB and USA Baseball, including the first overall pick Willetts, who participated in States Play, and became the first MLB Develops alumni to be selected as the first overall pick in the Draft. The other three alumni include Kayson Cunningham (18th, AZ), who participated in States Play and DREAM Series; Xavier Neyens (21st, HOU), who participated in States Play; and Tate Southisene (22nd, ATL), who participated in States Play. Additionally, Neyens participated in both the High School Home Run Derby and the High School All American Game, while Willetts and Cunningham also participated in the High School All American Game.
With the fourth-ever Prospect Promotion Incentive Selection, the Kansas City Royals selected Josh Hammond out of Wesleyan Christian Academy. The PPI Selection was awarded to Kansas City for the promotion of shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. in 2022 who went on to finish within the top three of American League Most Valuable Player voting in 2024, prior to his qualification for arbitration.
Ethan Holliday, who was selected fourth overall by the Colorado Rockies, is the son of seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday, who was also drafted by the Rockies in the seventh round of the 1998 Draft before playing six seasons in Colorado and leading the team to the 2007 National League pennant. Along with Jackson’s selection in 2022, the Holliday’s join the following notable father-son combinations to come through the Draft, including: Dante Bichette, Dante Bichette Jr. and Bo Bichette; Bob Boone, Bret Boone and Aaron Boone; Tom Gordon, Dee Gordon and Nick Gordon; Ken Griffey Sr., Ken Griffey Jr. and Craig Griffey; Jerry Hariston, Jerry Hairston Jr. and Scott Hairston; Dave LaRoche, Adam LaRoche and Andy LaRoche; and Don Mattingly, Taylor Mattingly and Preston Mattingly.
Other players within tonight’s first 43 picks who have family ties to Baseball include: Ike Irish (19th, BAL), whose father, Jeff, played in the Toronto Blue Jays organization; Southisene, whose brother, Ty, was drafted last year in the fourth round by the Chicago Cubs; Wehiwa Aloy (31st, BAL), whose father, Jamie, was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 48th round of the 1999 Draft; Brady Ebel (32nd, MIL), whose father, Dino, currently serves at the third base coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers; and Marcus Phillips (33rd, BOS), whose father, Steve, played five years with the New York Yankees organization in the Minor Leagues before coaching for 10 years in the Minors.
Overall, 24 of the first 43 selections came from college, while 19 high school players were selected. The states of California produced five picks within the first 43 selections, followed by Arkansas (4); North Carolina (4); Tennessee (4); Alabama (3); Florida (3); Oklahoma (3); Oregon (3); Georgia (2); South Carolina (2); Texas (2); Arizona (1); Kentucky (1); Louisiana (1); Michigan (1); Mississippi (1); Nevada (1); New York (1); and Washington (1).
Eighteen (18) shortstops were selected within the first 43 picks, 15 of which were first round selections, marking the most shortstops taken in the first round in the history of the Draft, surpassing the previous mark of 10, set during the 2021 Draft. Each of the first 16 picks were a shortstop or pitcher before outfielder Ethan Conrad was selected by the Cubs with the 17th overall pick. It is the latest the first outfielder of a Draft was selected since 2004, when no outfielders were selected in the first round. Other players taken in the first 43 picks tonight included seven outfielders; seven right-handed pitchers; five left-handed pitchers; four catchers; and one third baseman. For the fourth straight year, a two-way player was selected in the first round when infielder and right-hander pitcher Mitch Voit was drafted 38th overall by the Yankees.
MLB.com will continue to provide Draft Tracker, a live interactive application that includes a searchable database of draft-eligible players with statistics, scouting reports and video highlights. On Twitter, the official Draft Twitter account, @MLBDraft, will provide up-to-the-moment updates and commentary.
Accompanying this release is a complete list of each choice made thus far in the 2025 MLB Draft.