The Men’s College World Series is the pinnacle of each college baseball season. It's the moment programs work toward and the time fans have no excuse but to tap in.
But after the national champions are crowned and the Charles Schwab Field is cleared out, the sport enters hibernation outside of two days in July due to a major event: the Major League Baseball Draft.
Those two days are approaching, as MLB teams and amateur athletes will be in Atlanta for the 2025 draft from July 13-14. The player pool will include familiar names that shined on the college stage.
Here’s everything you need to know about the 2025 MLB Draft.
How the MLB Draft works
The MLB Draft is unlike any other sports draft. Since 1965, baseball players in high school, college and other amateur baseball leagues are selected and enter their respective teams’ minor league system.
It has been held midseason annually since July 2021, featuring 20 rounds and over 600 selections. The draft has shortened its length over the past few decades, lasting 40 rounds until 2019 and 50 rounds before 2011.
Since 2023, the draft order has been decided during the MLB’s Draft Lottery at the Winter Meetings in December. Each non-postseason team enters a state-lottery style process to choose the order of the first six draft picks. The team with the worst overall record from the previous season has the best odds at securing the first overall pick.
The remaining non-postseason teams’ draft order, starting with the seventh selection, is based on the worst-to-best overall record at the end of the season. Postseason teams follow, and are ordered by where they finish in the playoffs. For example, the World Series winner would receive the final pick of the first round.
Before 2023, there was no draft lottery. The order was determined by the previous season's records, with the worst team selecting first.
2025 Draft details
The 2025 Draft will be conducted across two days from July 13-14, starting with the first round on Sunday, July 13. It will be broadcast on ESPN and MLB Network at 6 p.m. ET from the Coca-Cola Roxy in The Battery Atlanta.
The opening night of the Draft will reveal the first 105 picks of the first three rounds, compensatory rounds, competitive balance rounds and prospect promotion incentive selections. The first 43 selections will be live, while the other 62 will be simulcasted on MLB.com.
Monday, July 14, will feature rounds four through 20 starting at 11:30 a.m. eastern on MLB.com to conclude MLB All-Star festivities.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and New York Mets, who at least reached the National/American League Championship Series, forfeited their 2025 first round picks because they exceeded the competitive balance tax (CBT), also known as the luxury tax, in 2024. As a result, each pick dropped 10 spots.
First round draft order
- Washington Nationals
- Los Angeles Angels
- Seattle Mariners
- Colorado Rockies
- St. Louis Cardinals
- Pittsburgh Pirates
- Miami Marlins
- Toronto Blue Jays
- Cincinnati Reds
- Chicago White Sox
- Athletics
- Texas Rangers
- San Francisco Giants
- Tampa Bay Rays
- Boston Red Sox
- Minnesota Twins
- Chicago Cubs
- Arizona Diamondbacks
- Baltimore Orioles
- Milwaukee Brewers
- Houston Astros
- Atlanta Braves
- Kansas City Royals
- Detroit Tigers
- San Diego Padres
- Philadelphia Phillies
- Cleveland Guardians
The Washington Nationals landed the first pick for the third time in MLB history. The previous two times came in back-to-back seasons, 2009 and 2010, where they drafted Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper.
Strasburg won the Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy in 2009 at San Diego State, two awards given to the best player in the country by USA Baseball and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, respectively.
Harper attended Southern Nevada and became the second non-division one player to win the Golden Spikes Award.
USA BASEBALL: Breaking down the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team roster
Top college prospects
No. 2 — Kade Anderson, LSU
No. 4 — Jamie Arnold, Florida State
No. 6 — Aiva Arquette, Oregon State
No. 8 — Liam Doyle, Tennessee
No. 10 — Kyson Witherspoon, Oklahoma
No. 11 — Ike Irish, Auburn
No. 15 — Marek Houston, Wake Forest
No. 16 — Brendan Summerhill, Arizona
No. 17 — Wehiwa Aloy, Arkansas
No. 18 — Tyler Bremner, UC Santa Barbara
No. 20 — Jace LaViolette, Texas A&M
No. 21 — Gavin Kilen, Tennessee
No. 23 — Gage Wood, Arkansas
No. 28 — Ethan Conrad, Wake Forest
No. 29 — Andrew Fischer, Tennessee
No. 30 — Devin Taylor, Indiana
More details below on each player's name that is bolded.
LHP Kade Anderson, LSU
Anderson was already a projected top pick entering the Men’s College World Series. LSU’s left-handed ace had his way in the SEC, tallying the second-most strikeouts in the country and throwing a complete game against Oklahoma in early April.
But the MCWS Most Outstanding Player stamped his name atop draft rankings with the third-ever complete game shutout in the MCWS Finals versus Coastal Carolina.
The conversation transitioned from Anderson being a top pick to potentially the top pick.
He finished with the most strikeouts in college baseball (180) by the time he hoisted the national championship trophy, allowed just one run across 17 innings, was named a First-Team All-American by Perfect Game, and cemented himself in LSU program history.
LHP Liam Doyle, Tennessee
Before Anderson snatched the crown for strikeouts leader, Doyle was the man at the mountaintop.
The SEC Pitcher of the Year was as dominant as it gets, leading college baseball in strikeouts-per-nine at 15.4. He set the table for two combined no-hitters for Tennessee this year, and leans heavily on a fastball that can touch triple digits — just go and rewatch his first career save for the Volunteers during the Knoxville Regional final.
There’s a lot of appeal to Doyle’s four pitch mix, but his fastball is definitely the trump card that catches teams’ attention.
Outfielder/Catcher Ike Irish, Auburn
Irish has been one of the top hitters for Auburn in all three of his collegiate seasons, and 2025 was his best one yet. Leading the Tigers in seven offensive categories, the junior was named a Dick Howser Trophy and Golden Spikes Award semifinalist.
He was a 2024 Buster Posey Award Semifinalist, making him a strong candidate to win it this past season, but spent most of his time in the outfield after fracturing his right scapula in March.
Even with the injury and position change, Irish continued to anchor Auburn’s lineup, solidifying him as one of the best hitters in the draft. And with experience behind the plate and tracking down fly balls, it gives teams a lot to work with.
Shortstop Wehiwa Aloy, Arkansas
The 47th Golden Spikes Award winner, Aloy was one of the best all-around athletes to grace college baseball this season.
He led an overpowered Arkansas offense in nearly every major category, including hits, home runs and runs scored, or landed at least in the top three on the team. He had just five errors defensively on 229 total chances.
He became the first Razorbacks shortstop to hit a homer at the MCWS.
Aloy has showcased his five-tool ability throughout the season, putting together one of the best single seasons in program history alongside being named the SEC Player of the Year.
Just nine Golden Spikes winners haven’t been drafted in the first round — three before 1985.
Outfielder Jace LaViolette, Texas A&M
LaViolette was a name to keep in mind for the top overall pick in this year’s draft ahead of the 2025 season. D1Baseball’s projected SEC Player of the Year, the outfielder hit .305 with 29 homers and 78 RBIs in 2024 and helped Texas A&M to a MCWS runner-ups finish.
His home run total was the second-most in program history, and was catalyst for him receiving First-Team All-American honors from Baseball America, D1Baseball and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
However, LaViolette’s campaign didn’t pan out like expected, hitting .258 with just 18 home runs and 61 RBIs. The junior’s down year reflected the Aggies’ overall success, who missed the ɬַ tournament after being named D1Baseball’s preseason No. 1 team.
But there’s still light at the end of the tunnel for LaViolette. College baseball, and the world, have already seen the 6-foot-6 outfielder’s potential. Additionally, his homer and RBIs total led the team.
RHP Gage Wood, Arkansas
Wood is the biggest climber on this list by far. He wasn’t the top-ranked arm for Arkansas as he packed his bags for Omaha and the MCWS, sitting at No. 50.
That, and arguably the 21-year-old’s life, changed on June 16, throwing the third no-hitter in MCWS history, the first since 1960.
And the historic feat wasn’t the only reason behind him skyrocketing up in the rankings, it was how he collected the 21 outs. Wood struck out 19, a MCWS record, including seven consecutive strikeouts, behind a lively fastball and a handful of other pitches.
Wood’s performance cemented himself as the beholder of one of the best heaters in the draft, sitting in the high-90s, and with the help of a strong campaign, makes him an enticing selection for teams.
