Earlier this month the San Francisco Giants selected Humboldt Crabs shortstop Elijah McNeal with their 20th round selection (596th overall pick) but McNeal will not be joining the Giants’ organization as the two sides could not come to an agreement ahead of Monday’s deadline.

McNeal, who was drafted fresh out of Dublin High School, had already committed to play for the UC Davis Aggies ahead of the MLB Draft, will now compete in the Big West Conference under Aggies’ head coach Tommy Nicholson.

The young infielder played 15 games this summer for the Crabs, having not appeared in a game for Humboldt since July 15. McNeal batted .255 on the summer with three doubles, nine runs batted in and four stolen bases. In the field, McNeal made two errors for the Crabs while playing shortstop and third base. McNeal did so as the youngest player on the Crabs’ roster at just 18 years old and was the lone member of this year’s Crabs team to join the club straight from high school.

McNeal was the lone member of the Giants’ draft class to not sign, with San Francisco reaching an agreement with their other 17 selections. McNeal will now have to wait a couple years before he’s eligible to hear his name called in the draft again, as McNeal will now have to wait till after his junior season to become draft eligible again.

Del Norte Little League All-Stars bounced from West Region Tournament

The Del Norte Little League’s Junior All-Star team saw the season come to an end this past weekend as the 14U team fell 13-8 to Northern California’s Mark West Youth Club Little League out of Santa Rosa on Saturday.

After going unbeaten in the Oregon State Tournament, Del Norte dropped consecutive games in the West Regional tournament in Bend, Oregon. The tournament’s championship game is set for Thursday morning where Hawaii will face the winner of Wednesday’s Northern California-Southern California matchup. Despite being based in California, Del Norte Little League represented Oregon in the tournament.

Del Norte opened the game taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on Saturday, with Alexander Gonzalez doubling home two runs, but Northern California would own the lead by the end of the frame, as they scored four runs to jump in front 4-2.

Northern California tacked on single runs in both the second and third innings before truly blowing things open in the fourth inning, as they plated seven runs to go up 13-2. Del Norte didn’t go down without a battle, scoring six runs over the last three innings before Northern California could close out the game.

It was Del Norte’s second-straight appearance in the West Regional, but the team wasn’t able to advance to the Junior League Baseball World Series, which will be held in Taylor, Michigan early next month.

Originally Published: July 30, 2025 at 1:48 PM PDT