In a move that caught baseball analysts off guard, the Washington Nationals selected 17-year-old shortstop Eli Willits from Fort Cobb-Broxton High School in Oklahoma with the first overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft on Sunday night in Atlanta.
The selection came just one week after the Nationals fired longtime general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez, leaving interim GM Mike DeBartolo to make the franchise-altering decision.
“Eli was the top guy on our board,” DeBartolo told reporters. “It’s one of those nice things where the scouts and the analysts see things exactly the same way and saw him as the best hitter in the Draft, the best fielder in the Draft with just great makeup, great work ethic and all the intangibles.”
At 17 years and 216 days old, Willits becomes the youngest player selected first overall since Ken Griffey Jr. in 1987 and the third-youngest No. 1 pick in MLB Draft history. Only Tim Foli (1968) was younger when selected at the top spot.
The switch-hitting shortstop reclassified from the 2026 class to make himself eligible for this year’s draft. His father, Reggie Willits, played six seasons as an outfielder with the Los Angeles Angels from 2006-2011.
Willits posted extraordinary numbers in his senior season, batting .473 with 14 doubles, 1 triple, 8 home runs, 34 RBI, and 47 stolen bases. Perhaps most impressive was his plate discipline—just 4 strikeouts in 128 plate appearances while drawing 27 walks for a .602 on-base percentage.
“He makes the routine plays about as easy as anybody you can see, much less a 17-year-old,” said Nationals vice president for amateur scouting Danny Haas. “It’s just very soft, sure hands; educated, quick feet in all directions; and just a very compact, accurate, strong throwing arm.”
The Nationals’ choice surprised many draft experts who had projected either Ethan Holliday (another Oklahoma high school shortstop) or LSU left-handed pitcher Kade Anderson as the likely first selection.
The selection may also reflect strategic financial considerations. With a total bonus pool of $16,597,800 to spend on all their picks, choosing Willits could allow the Nationals to sign him below the $11,075,900 slot value for the top pick, potentially freeing up money for higher-priced talent in later rounds.
The Los Angeles Angels followed with another unexpected choice, selecting UC Santa Barbara right-hander Tyler Bremner with the second pick. The Seattle Mariners then grabbed Anderson, widely considered the best pitcher in the draft, with the third selection.
The Colorado Rockies stayed in the family business by taking Ethan Holliday, son of former Rockies star Matt Holliday, with the fourth pick. Ethan’s older brother, Jackson, was the No. 1 overall pick by the Baltimore Orioles in 2022, making them the third set of brothers to be selected in the top 10 of the MLB Draft.
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Day 1 of the draft established several notable records. A record 17 shortstops were selected in the first round, with high school teammates Seth Hernandez (6th to the Pirates) and Billy Carlson (10th to the White Sox) becoming the first high school teammates ever selected in the top 10 of the same draft. Corona High School in California became the first high school with three players chosen in the first round when Brady Ebel went 32nd to the Milwaukee Brewers.
The draft also featured a historical shift in team preferences. Six of the first ten selections were high school players, the first time that’s happened since 2002. Only one college hitter (Oregon State shortstop Aiva Arquette) was selected within the top 10, the first time that’s occurred in 13 years.
The Nationals continued their draft by selecting South Carolina outfielder Ethan Petry in the second round (49th overall) and Mississippi high school right-hander Landon Harmon in the third round (80th overall). Harmon, a 6-foot-5 pitcher with an exciting fastball and slider, could represent the type of high-upside talent the Nationals might have targeted with potential savings from Willits’ signing bonus.
“Every kid’s dream is to be the No. 1 overall pick,” Willits said after his selection. “I want to be described as a guy that plays harder than everyone else, but at the end of the day, I want to be described as a great human being that is good to people off the field and good to teammates.”
The draft continues Monday with rounds 4-20, starting at 11:30 a.m. ET.
