Former Montoursville baseball standout Dalena gets drafted by Padres in MLB Draft | News, Sports, Jobs

DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette
Montoursville graduate Jaxon Dalena pitches against the Williamsport Crosscutters last year with the State College Spikes.

From a slump came an opportunity. And that opportunity helped dream become reality.

Montoursville graduate Jaxon Dalena arrived at Shippensburg two years ago as an outfielder. A slow start had Dalena considering pitching to try and help his team. Call that funk a happy accident because Dalena becoming a pitcher has now made him a professional baseball player.

The San Diego Padres selected Dalena in the sixth round of the 2025 MLB Draft Monday afternoon. The 2020 Montoursville grad and recent Shippensburg grad was the 190th pick overall and the first from both Pennsylvania and Division II in this year’s draft.

“It was unreal. I got emotional with my parents and family around,” Dalena said. “It’s been my dream to play professional baseball since I was a little kid. For that to come true is kind of surreal. It’s been a lot of hard work the last two years. For that to all come together is kind of crazy.”

Dalena said he will likely learn Thursday morning where the process takes him from here. He likely is headed to Peoria, Arizona, where the Padres Spring Training facility is, for a physical and other testing. Dalena then will likely go to either the Padres High A or Low A team. The High A team is the Fort Wayne TinCaps and the Low A squad is the Lake Elsinore Storm.

DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette
Montoursville graduate Jaxon Dalena, a pitcher for the State College Spikes, stands in the bullpen prior to the start of the game
between the Crosscutters and Spikes in State College last year. Dalena was
selected in the sixth round of the
2025 MLB Draft by the
San Diego Padres.

Wherever he goes, Dalena is excited about continuing his journey. Monday was a day to celebrate but the grind continues.

“It’s unreal. Just to know that I’m getting paid to play the game I love and always dreamed to play is amazing,” Dalena said. “This is my job now, so I’m going to do whatever I can to make it my long-term job and make it a career. It shows that anything can happen. It doesn’t matter where you come from. You have to put in the work that others don’t want to do in order to do what you want to do.”

Working has been in Dalena’s DNA since he started first playing Montoursville Little League Baseball. He became an immediate contributor as a freshman at Montoursville and shined as a catcher on back-to-back district champions in 2018 and 2019. He also started pitching some as a junior and excelled there. COVID, however, wiped out Dalena’s senior year and he was recruited to catch at Monmouth. Following two years there, he transferred to Shippensburg. There, early-season offensive struggles led to a life-changing decision. Not that Dalena knew at the time how much that switch to pitcher would change his baseball life.

Dalena threw just 4 1/3 innings that spring but everything started changing when he played for the Virginia-based Purcellville Cannons and coach Brett Fuller that summer in the Valley Baseball League. Like a scene from the movie, “The Rookie,” Fuller saw something that Dalena never did.

“It’s crazy how much things have changed the last two years. A lot of credit goes to the Purcellville Cannons and Brett Fuller,” Dalena said. “I went there as an outfielder and threw a bullpen and they were like, ‘Dude, you have some legit stuff,’ and said I should stick with working on the mound. I developed into a starting pitcher and that’s when things really picked up.”

DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette
Montoursville graduate Jaxon Dalena works out before the start of the game between the Crosscutters and Spikes in State College last year. Dalena, who played for State College, was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the sixth round of the 2025 MLB Draft on Monday.

Dalena became Shippensburg’s ace as a junior and went 12-5 the past two seasons. He was dominant down the stretch this past spring, finishing the season 8-3 with a 3.36 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 83 innings.

Generating buzz during his breakout 2024 campaign, Dalena was a first team All-Atlantic Region pitcher and quickly started popping up on the draft radar. That intensified this past spring. Dalena was feeling good about his draft prospects but it was at Fenway Park a few weeks ago that his stock really soared.

There at the Cape Cod Showcase, Dalena wowed the scouts, hitting 97 miles per hour. A year after using a three-pitch arsenal, Dalena also added a change-up and a cutter, so he had the repertoire to match the velocity. Put it all together and Dalena was feeling like he might go in the Top 10 rounds, although he was thinking it would more like the eighth or ninth.

“It’s pretty cool just to get the chance and the opportunity. I didn’t care where I went, I just wanted to get drafted,” Dalena said. “I’m just happy that teams believed in me enough to draft me. I’m ready to keep working, keep learning and keep getting better.”

Dalena’s late pitching start could make him a potential sixth round steal. The 6-foot-3 right-hander is still developing and has far from reached his ceiling. Instead, he’s made a high-rise like climb in just two years.

Like a hand in a glove, Dalena felt like pitching was a perfect fit once he started doing it full time. He spent most of his baseball life being on the receiving end, but it turns out he likes the view from the mound much better.

“I didn’t struggle with the mindset of pitching. I kind of stepped on the mound and found success right way and kind of took the approach that I’m better than the guy in the box in front of me,” Dalena said. “Even if I struggle that helps me stay strong and fight through the adversity. I love pitching. I have fun with it and enjoy the mindset.”

He also enjoys honing his skills. While it may have been a serendipitous occurrence that brought Dalena to the mound, what he has done since then reflects his blue-collar roots. Glory comes with a price tag and Dalena has paid it nearly every day these last two years.

Monday afternoon came the payoff.

“I spent a lot of time doing a lot of extra work. It was working out twice a day. Even if I had a busy day, I’d make sure I got some throwing in even if it ends up being 10 at night,” Dalena said. “It’s really understanding the things I needed to get better at it, increasing mobility, increasing strength and cleaning up my mechanics. It’s being open-minded and sticking with what works and trying new things. There are no days off, especially at D2 where there are limited resources compared to other schools. You have to put the work in. It doesn’t matter where you come from if you have work ethic. If you put in the hours and have the right mindset you can pull through.”

Dalena has been home recently and watched both some Montoursville Little League games and his alma mater play in the Class AAAA state championship. There, he has essentially watched himself. So many of those players have the same dream Dalena does.

Dalena looked up to Montoursville pitching coach and Major League Hall of Famer Mike Mussina growing up. Now, those Little Leaguers and high school players have another local player they can try and emulate.

And it’s not just what Dalena is doing what should motivate those players. It is how he has done it.

“I was at a Little League district game and I knew some of the kids and it was cool watching it, knowing that was me 10 years ago,” Dalena said. “It’s fun coming back and supporting your town and wishing them the best and showing those guys that if you work, you can get here.”