OXFORD, Miss. (WJTV) – Some Mississippi college baseball players were called during the 2025 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft.

Day 1

According to the University of Mississippi, Mason Morris was the first Rebel to hear his named called in the draft. He was drafted in the third round as the 83rd overall pick by the Cincinnati Reds.

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Morris is the first Rebel to be drafted in one of the top three rounds since 2023 and one of just three Rebels to go in the first three rounds since 2021.

According to the University of Southern Mississippi (USM), Southern Miss right-handed pitcher JB Middleton and center fielder Jake Cook were also selected during the opening night of the draft.

Middleton was chosen in the second round by the Colorado Rockies with the 45th overall pick, and Cook got taken by the Toronto Blue Jays in the third round with the 81st overall pick. It was the first time in the school’s history that two of its players came off the board in the opening three rounds.

Day 2

Mississippi State saw seven players selected on the second day of the draft. Pico Kohn, Evan Siary, Karson Ligon, Hunter Hines, Luke Dotson, Nate Williams and Jacob Pruitt were all taken.

Kohn, a junior, was the highest MSU player drafted going in the fourth round (134th overall) to the New York Yankees. Siary was the second Bulldog to come off the board when the Texas Rangers took him in the eighth round (235th overall). The third member of MSU’s weekend rotation, Ligon, was the next to go in the ninth round (262nd overall) to the Toronto Blue Jays. The program’s all-time home run leader, Hines, had his name called in the 10th round (291st overall) by the Washington Nationals. Dotson went in the 11th round (333rd overall) after the Arizona Diamondbacks took him as a draft-eligible sophomore. Williams, another reliever, was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 13th round (391st overall). Pruitt was the final Bulldog to be taken in 2025 when the Philadelphia Phillies picked him up in the 15th round (461st overall).

Day 2 saw eight more Rebels hear their name called, bringing the total to nine over the two-day event.

Luke Hill was drafted in the fourth round as the 132nd overall pick by the Cleveland Guardians. Will McCausland was selected in the seventh round as the 222nd overall pick by the Cleveland Guardians. Riley Maddox was picked in the eighth round as the 231st overall pick by the Washington Nationals. Mason Nichols was picked by the Tampa Bay Rays in the ninth round as the 267th overall pick. Connor Spencer was taken in the 12th round by the Chicago Cubs as the 361st overall pick. Patrick Galle was selected in the 17th round as the 508th overall pick by the Boston Red Sox. Brayden Jones was taken in the 18th round as the 537th overall pick by the Tampa Bay Rays. Sam Tookoian was picked in the 20th round as the 589th overall pick by the Los Angeles Angels.

Southern Miss second baseman Nick Monistere and relief pitcher Landen Payne were also selected on Day 2.

The Houston Astros made Monistere their choice in the fourth round (Pick No. 126), while Payne went in the 18th round by the Chicago White Sox (Pick No. 526).

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