Gavin Kilen recaps his two-homer game for Tennessee baseball vs Oklahoma State
Gavin Kilen hit two homers against Oklahoma State to give him five in nine games for Tennessee baseball.
The state of Wisconsin, albeit with some out-of-state college baseball thrown in, was well represented in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft July 13.
Milton High School alumnus Gavin Kilen, a 21-year-old shortstop for one season at the University of Tennessee, was taken by the San Francisco Giants with the 13th overall pick of the showcase.
Kilen, who started his college career at Louisville, was named first-team All-American by Perfect Game after batting .357 with 15 homers and 46 RBIs in 53 games. He was named first-team all-Southeastern Conference.
The Red Sox selected Kilen in the 13th round in 2022, but he honored his commitment to Louisville and turned that into a dramatically bigger opportunity three years later. The pick carries a slot value of $5.52 million, whereas all picks after the 10th round carry a slot value of $150,000.
Kilen led Milton to the WIAA Division 1 state title in 2022.
Mitch Voit, formerly of Whitefish Bay, selected by New York Mets
He wasn’t the last Wisconsinite to hear his name, nor the only one to become a team’s top pick.
The New York Mets selected second baseman Mitchell Voit, a Whitefish Bay High School alumnus playing at Michigan, with the 38th overall selection in the draft. The pick was a “Competitive Balance A” pick that typically goes to teams with smaller markets or smaller revenue pools.
In this case, the Dodgers, Mets and Yankees picked in this portion of the draft as penalty for exceeding the second surcharge threshold of the competitive balance tax, meaning their original first-round picks came later than usual.
Voit, thus, becomes the highest pick for the Mets in the 2025 draft. The Mets also made Waukesha West High School alumnus Jarred Kelenic their top pick in 2018, taken No. 6 overall.
At the University of Michigan, Voit has played all over the diamond, including as a relief pitcher. An injury pushed him toward a focus on hitting, and the junior reached base at a .471 clip this year, with 14 homers, 60 RBIs and a .346 average in 56 games. That earned him a nod on the all-region team and second-team All-American by Perfect Game.
Voit, who turns 21 in September, was named the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association state player of the year in 2022 for Division 1, joining Kilen on the first-team All-State list.
Voit became the first Big Ten Conference player taken in the 2025 draft. The 38th pick carries a slot value of $2.57 million.
South Milwaukee’s Nate Snead is the last pick of the third round
South Milwaukee High School alumnus Nate Snead, the eighth University of Tennessee player taken on the first day of the draft, was also the last; the Los Angeles Angels made Snead the final pick of Day 1 with the 105th overall pick, a supplemental pick to end the third round.
Snead, a pitcher who flirts with triple-digit velocities, pitched prominently in relief for the Volunteers squad that won the program’s first national championship last year. Snead has a career 3.67 ERA in two seasons at Tennessee, with 103 strikeouts in 125 innings.
(This story was updated to add new information.)