NEWS

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – The New England League’s motto is “Keep Your Eye on the Dream” and every summer the dream comes alive at the MLB Draft. The draft concluded on July 16 and 55 NECBL alumni or current players were chosen. Following the draft, an additional eight players signed professional contracts. A total of 63 players have now been given the chance to fulfill their dream of playing professional baseball through 26 clubs. All but two of the 20 rounds included NECBL alumni.

 

Keene led the league seeing 11 players drafted this year with Newport close behind at 10. Martha’s Vineyard had nine selections, followed by Ocean State (seven), Sanford (six), Vermont (five), Mystic (four), Danbury (three), North Adams (three), North Shore (three), Upper Valley (two). Some players participated in multiple NECBL programs during different seasons. The Winnipesaukee Muskrats, a former NECBL team that closed its program in 2022, saw one player selected. This year’s draftees make 1,121 former NECBL products picked in the last 15 drafts.

 

Eight current NECBL players joined MLB organizations. The St. Louis Cardinals selected Keene’s Josh Kross (Cincinnati) in the sixth round with the 171st pick. Kross, a junior from Medina, Ohio, has logged three home runs and hit .340 for the SwampBats this summer across 12 games. He earned the NECBL Player of the Week award in the fourth week of the regular season.

 

The other current players selected include: Ocean State’s Nick Conte (Duke) drafted No. 227 in the eighth round by the Kansas City Royals, Newport’s Colby Holcombe (Mississippi State) drafted No. 277 in the ninth round by the Toronto Blue Jays, North Adams’ Will Gervase (Wake Forest) drafted No. 472 in the 16th round by the Los Angeles Angels, Keene’s Dane Burns (Mississippi State) drafted No. 497 in the 17th round by the Kansas City Royals, Ocean State’s Michael Caldon (Felician) drafted No. 549 in the 18th round by the Baltimore Orioles, Sanford’s Ryan Minckler (Niagara) drafted No. 560 in the 19th round by the Washington Nationals, and Ocean State’s Kyler Carmack (Ole Miss) drafted No. 612 in the 20th round by the Philadelphia Phillies.

 

Newport’s Joshua Kuroda-Grauer (Rutgers) was the first NECBL alumnus to be drafted. The Oakland Athletics selected Kuroda-Grauer 75th in the third round. Kuroda-Grauer played infield and outfield for the Gulls in 2022, averaging .331 and leading all-time games played for Newport at 44.

 

The fourth round involved four NECBL players. The Cleveland Guardians selected Martha’s Vineyard’s Rafe Schlesinger (Miami) 113th overall. Schlesinger pitched 34.2 innings for the Sharks in 2022 across eight games, recording a 2.86 ERA. The N.Y. native was a part of the Sharks’ Championship team and logged an appearance in the postseason to lead them to their first-ever NECBL title.

 

The San Francisco Giants drafted Dakota Jordan (Mississippi State) 116th overall in the fourth round. Jordan played for Newport’s championship team in 2023, appearing in 11 games and batting .379. Jordan was the first Player of the Week after the Gulls started 5-0.

 

The Tampa Bay Rays drafted Nate Knowles (William & Mary) of Vermont 124th overall in the fourth round. Knowles pitched for the Mountaineers in 2023 and tallied a 2.07 ERA through four games.

 

The Texas Rangers drafted North Shore’s David Hagaman (West Virginia) 133rd in the fourth round. Hagaman played for the Navigators in 2023 and threw 11 strikeouts across 10.2 innings.

 

Five players from Martha’s Vineyard’s 2022 championship team were drafted, including: Schlesinger, Camron Hill (Georgia Tech) who was drafted No. 252 in the eighth round by the Philadelphia Phillies and won the season’s Joe Nathan Top Relief Pitcher award throwing a .91 ERA through 12 games, Ryan Nicholson (Kentucky) who was selected No. 292 in the 10th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers, Derek Berg (Army) who was drafted No. 294 in the 10th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates, Michael Snyder (Oklahoma) who was drafted No. 304 in the 10th round by the Miami Marlins and won the 2022 Batting Champion Award with a .406 season average across 25 games.

Four players from Newport’s 2023 championship team were drafted, including Dakota Jordan, Ryan Andrade (Pittsburgh) who was drafted No. 216 in the seventh round by the Tampa Bay Rays, Anthony Donofrio (North Carolina) who was drafted No. 303 in the 10th round by the Seattle Mariners and Sam Kulasingam (Air Force Academy) who was drafted No. 377 in the 13th round by the Kansas City Royals.

 

Including undrafted free agents, 26 of 30 MLB teams added NECBL alumni and players. The Tampa Bay Rays selected six alumni and the Cleveland Guardians and Philadelphia Phillies took four apiece. The Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners and Washington Nationals each chose three players.

 

Pitchers led the NECBL players drafted this year at 33. Seven outfielders and five shortstops were the next most-favored position. Of the 63 signees, 60 played for DI programs, two participated in DII and one in DIII.

 

The NECBL congratulates all current and former players who move on to the majors!

 

The New England Collegiate Baseball League is a wooden bat college summer league that fields teams in all six New England states. Partially funded by Major League Baseball, the New England League started play in 1994 and has sent over 230 alumni to the Major Leagues with nearly 30 alumni taken in the first round of the MLB Draft. For continuing coverage of the NECBL, visit NECBL.com and follow the league on X/Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.