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Baseball fans, get ready for some fascinating draft insights! Dave Johnson, NHSBCA Historian, has compiled the only MLB High School Draft archive known in the United States. The 2026 edition includes the 613 players selected in this year's MLB draft; 127 came straight from high schools (including 9 from outside the U.S.), while 486 were chosen from colleges. Since the draft moved to just 20 rounds in 2021, high schoolers have consistently made up about 18% of selections, with this year ticking up to 19%.
For the history buffs, Dave Johnson (MD) has compiled an updated draft history featuring the 26,715 players drafted directly from high school since 1965, organized by high school and state. It's a treasure trove for anyone curious about where baseball's future stars got their start.
Pulling this data together has been a true labor of love; compiling the list of high school draftees took three years! Responding to coach interest, I've also started tracing the high schools of college draftees. So far, I've identified the high schools for 69.2% of the 78,355 players ever drafted, with the past 19 years fully complete. If you're interested in stats for a specific school or state, just ask (Dave Johnson djohnson@baseballcoaches.org).
In 2026, high school talent came from all over the country—29 states, to be exact. California and Florida led the pack with 17 draftees each, followed by Georgia (12), Texas (8), and South Carolina (6). Making headlines, NHSBCA 2026 Player of the Year Grady Emerson of Fort Worth Christian High School (North Richland Hills, TX) was this year's highest-drafted high schooler at #2 overall and earned the 2026 NHSBCA NPOY honor. Five high schools—Bishop Snyder (FL), Central Point Christian (FL), Corona (CA), Glynn Academy (GA), and South Walton (FL) each boasted two draftees.
Looking back over 62 years of MLB drafts, there have been 2,530 occasions when a high school saw multiple players drafted in the same year, showing just how deep prep baseball roots run: six players (5 times), five players (7 times), four players (73 times), three players (289 times), and two players (2,156 times).
For 2026, Dave tracked down the high school background for every draftee. Out of 595 U.S. high schoolers, 46 states and DC were represented. California once again dominated with 99 players, followed by Florida (58), Texas (55), Georgia (42), Illinois (23), and Pennsylvania (23). Notably, Alaska, Maine, Montana, and Rhode Island didn't have any draftees this year.
In a series of questions Dave has fielded about his MLB draft, here was a great question he tackled for 2026. How many draftees played on our NHSBCA All-Regional teams?
While the draft is full of strategy—pros don't want to risk picks on players unlikely to sign, and family connections sometimes play a role (34 draftees had famous relatives)—it's still impressive that 50 of the 116 high school players drafted were regional team alumni. In fact, 21 of the first 25 high schoolers picked had played for our teams. Here are the notable exceptions:
#13 Tyler Spangler, SS, De La Salle (CA), #16 Aiden Ruiz, SS, The Stony Brook School (NY), #18 Rocco Maniscalco, SS, Oxford (AL), #20 Kaden Waechter, P, Jesuit (FL)
NHSBCA All-Regional teams also made their mark among college draftees: 54 drafted college players had once played regionally, including four of the first 10 college picks. Overall, a remarkable 6 out of the top 10 draft picks this year once wore our regional uniform.
Another fun fact that Dave uncovered for 2026 from our coaches’ inquiries: How often college draftees stayed in-state for both high school and college? Dave's research suggested 43.6% matched up, with only eleven states seeing more than half their draftees stay local. Utah stood out with a whopping 83%, followed by Minnesota (75%), Mississippi and South Carolina (67% each), North Carolina and Louisiana (63%), California (59%), Texas (55%), and Virginia (54%).
Stay tuned for more great research for NHSBCA Historian Dave Johnson. Click the link below to review Dave’s 2026 NHSBCA High School Baseball History.
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