Cole is the 410th and Ragsdale the 411th NWL alum to debut in MLB
Rochester, Minn. – Former Rochester Honker Zach Cole made his Major League debut on Friday, September 12, 2025, and former Madison Mallard Carson Ragsdale made his MLB debut two days later. Cole is the 410th former Northwoods League player to reach the Major League level while Ragsdale is the 411th. Ragsdale is also the 39th former player to debut this season which is a Northwoods League record.
Cole, who played collegiately at Ball State University, played for the Honkers in 2021. He was drafted in the 10th round of the 2022 MLB draft by the Houston Astros. Ragsdale was drafted in the 4th round of the 2020 MLB draft by the Philadelphia Phillies out of the University of South Florida. He pitched for the Mallards during the 2018 season.
In 2021 with the Honkers, Cole played in 34 games and hit .189 with three home runs, one double, and 10 RBI. He stole 10 bases and scored 15 times.
Across four minor league seasons, Cole played in 318 games and hit .249 with 51 home runs, 66 doubles, 18 triples, and 188 runs scored. He drove in 180 runs, stole 87 bases, and walked 161 times.
Prior to his call-up to the Astros, Cole had split his season between Double-A and Triple-A. Between the two levels he was hitting .279 with 19 home runs, 65 RBI, and 18 stolen bases. In his Major League debut against the Atlanta Braves, Cole went 3 for 4 with a home run, on the first pitch he saw in MLB, two runs scored and four RBI.
Ragsdale pitched in 18 games with the Mallards in 2018 and was 2-1 with a 3.42 ERA. He struck out 40 batters in 26.1 innings while walking 18.
He spent five seasons in the minor leagues with the Giants and most recently in the Orioles organizations. Overall, he was 21-21 with a 4.27 ERA in 88 games. He struck out 441 batters in 356.1 innings and had one save.
Prior to being called up to the Orioles, Ragsdale was in Triple-A with the Giants and then the Orioles. In 25 games with the two organizations, he was 7-7 with a 5.48 ERA and 76 strikeouts in 88.2 innings. In his Major League debut against the Toronto Blue Jays, he pitched 3.0 innings in relief.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 32nd season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in history with 25 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires, and front office staff, nearly 2400 NWL alums have been drafted and over 410 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and two-time World Series Champion Max Scherzer (TOR), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford and World Series Champion and Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale (ATL). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2023 World Series Champion, MLB All-Star, MLB Gold Glove, two-time Silver Slugger winner and two-time All-MLB first team shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). League games are viewable live on Northwoods League+ (at watch.northwoodsleague.com) and ESPN+.