Madison leads the way with 12 selections
Rochester, Minn. – The 2025 Major League First-Year Player Draft was held July 13 through July 14. This year’s draft was twenty rounds with 79 Northwoods League players selected.
The highest Northwoods League alum picked in this year’s draft was Brendan Summerhill, a junior outfielder from the University of Arizona. Summerhill was picked in the Competitive Balance A Round by the Tampa Bay Rays with the 42nd overall pick. Summerhill played for the Traverse City Pit Spitters in 2022 and the Rockford Rivets in 2023.
The Madison Mallards had a league-high, 12 players drafted this year. The highest pick for the Mallards was third baseman Jake Munroe from the University of Louisville. Munroe was selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the 4th round. The St Louis Cardinals selected a MLB high seven Northwoods League players.
The full list of 2025 NWL draftees can be found here: 2025 NWL Draft List
As the Northwoods League continues the 2025 season, fans everywhere can take advantage of games streamed each night on ESPN+ and on Northwoods League+ at watch.northwoodsleague.com. Games are viewable on PC or on mobile devices, tablets, and select smart TV services.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Now in its’ 32nd season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in history with 24 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 400 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+.