Led by right fielder Brendan Summerhill, nine Arizona players were selected in the Major League Baseball Draft on Sunday and Monday. Arizona tied for fourth with Arizona State, national champion LSU and Mississippi. Arkansas and Florida State were first with 11 players drafted and Georgia was third with 10.
The nine Arizona players selected in the 2025 MLB Draft is one of the biggest classes from Arizona in program history. The first four Arizona players selected in the 2025 MLB Draft were position players and the last five were pitchers. Nine Arizona alums were selected in the 2023 and 2024 MLB drafts combined.
Chip Hale and his staff are developing talent ready for professional baseball with the second full cycle of players eligible for the MLB Draft during his tenure. Arizona advanced to the College World Series for the first time under Hale in June.
Shortstop Mason White was named an All-American by multiple publications and was the Big XII Tournament and Eugene Regional Most Valuable Player. White was a third round selection by the Boston Red Sox in the 2025 MLB Draft.
"Arizona’s nine selections are the program’s most since 2008, and the fifth-most players selected in a single draft in Wildcats history. Like Georgia, they closed out strong with seven selections on day two.Barkley Truax, On3
OF Brendan Summerhill was drafted with the 42nd overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft as the team’s highest selection this season. Fellow OF Aaron Walton was the other Wildcat taken (on Sunday), selected 66th overall by the Cleveland Guardians."
In addition to Summerhill, center fielder Aaron Walton and White being selected in the 2025 MLB Draft, Arizona pitchers Julian Tonghini, Hunter Albernini, Casey Hintz, Raul Garayzar and Michael Hilker Jr. were also chosen in the 2025 MLB Draft.
Summerhill fell in the 2025 MLB Draft after initially being projected in the middle of the first round. Walton and White going in the second and third rounds shows the strength Arizona had at the top of the order in 2025.
Arizona is competing with SEC programs in talent development. Oklahoma and Texas A&M, with eight 2025 draftees, were the only other programs listed by On3. Seven of the top 10 programs with players selected in the 2025 MLB Draft were from SEC schools.