MERTON — Peter Kussow was sitting in speech class on Monday at the University of Louisville, trying to soak up as much information as the professor was providing. But at the same time, the 2025 MLB Draft was taking place.
Kussow, a 6-foot-5 right-handed pitcher from Arrowhead High School, was projected to be around the 200th pick in the draft by MLB Pipeline, but during the middle of speech class, Kussow received a call from his agent. The New York Mets had selected him in the fourth round, 133rd overall.
“I literally packed up all my stuff in a second and walked out of there,” Kussow said. “He calls me like, ‘You’re getting drafted by the New York Mets in the fourth round.’” Kussow was Wisconsin’s top high school prospect heading into the draft and the only prep baseball player from the state to be selected on either Sunday or Monday.
“I was totally psyched out,” Kussow said. “At first I was celebrating, and then it set in like, I have the greatest job in the world. I couldn’t have asked for anything different.”
He was also the only high school pitcher from Wisconsin invited to the 2025 Draft Combine in Arizona.
“It was definitely an honor,” Kussow said. “Wisconsin has sneaky good talent, and on the national stage to be the lone guy to come out of there, it’s truly special.”
While Kussow was speed-walking back to his dorm, he got the official call from the Mets.
“It excites me a lot,” Kussow said. “Obviously David Stearns (Mets’ president of baseball operations, former Brewers general manager), they hired him to the Mets to come and rebuild a franchise and he’s done a great job of it. So I’m super excited, hoping I can be a part of that.”
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Kussow’s next step is to head down to Florida to meet up with the Mets officials. Draftees have until Aug. 1 to sign with the team that drafted them, and despite committing to Louisville, Kussow says he plans to put pen to paper.
“I leave on a flight tomorrow (Wednesday) for Florida,” Kussow said. “I got physicals and tests that the Mets are going to do and then I will sign my contract. I’m planning on signing a contract later this week.”
Signing the contract is the first step in a long journey to the Majors. According to Baseball America, from 1981-2010, 17.6% of players drafted ended up playing for their parent club, but Kussow is confident in himself and his abilities.
“I’m looking forward to going down and competing down there,” Kussow said. “I want to play with the best players and I want to prove that I can be one of the best players in the country, and hopefully ever. I think the biggest thing for me to get to that level is just keep working hard and doing what I’m doing.”
For Warhawks baseball coach Nick Brengosz, seeing Kussow’s journey firsthand gives him confidence that he will succeed in his professional journey.
“With his work ethic, and he’s super coachable, I just have a hard time believing that he wouldn’t get close to the major league level, if not get there,” Brengosz said. “Because he’s just that special of a player.”
For Kussow, it has been a long journey to reach this point, but now that his name has been called, a new journey awaits. But Kussow is still able to reflect on what it means to have been chosen to play professional baseball.
“If I would have told myself at 5 years old that I was going to be one of the top players, I would have said you’re crazy,” Kussow said. “But I’m just most looking forward to getting down there. I’m just taking it one step at a time.”