Less than a month since graduating from Cardinal Newman and finishing up a stellar varsity baseball career, Josh Jannicelli will now have a chance to achieve a lifelong dream.

The tall and hard-throwing right-handed pitcher could very likely be selected in an early round of the Major League Baseball draft that begins Sunday. Ranked No. 155 on the MLB Prospect Rankings, the UC Santa Barbara commit is projected as a fifth-round pick and, if selected, could face the difficult decision to forgo college to start his career in professional baseball.

If drafted and signed, Jannicelli will become the first Sonoma County baseball player to be selected out of high school since Cloverdale’s Robby Rowland, who was taken in the third round by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2010.

“It’s a bit of a nerve-wracking stressful time,” Jannicelli told The Press Democrat last week. “There’s a lot of possible unknowns in the next couple weeks and months. It’s a tough decision for an 18-year-old to make, but, I mean, I’m in a very fortunate position that I have such a difficult decision to make.”

Jannicelli, who committed to UCSB before his junior season, has been one of the top pitchers in Northern California, if not the entire state, for the past two years. Standing at 6-foot-6, his fastball sits in the low 90s and tops out in the mid-90s. His repertoire also features a consistent change-up and tight curveball.

His scouting profile on MLB.com indicates that he still has plenty of room to grow and improve, which makes him an intriguing long-term prospect.

In high school, he helped guide the Cardinals to a North Coast Section and NorCal regional title as a junior and was among the state’s best in strikeouts, wins and earned run average in both 2024 and 2025.

In his two varsity seasons for the Cardinals, he went 21-5 with a 0.72 earned run average in 155 innings across 31 appearances, clocking 250 strikeouts to just 37 walks and holding opponents to a .125 batting average.

Jannicelli began to see pro scouts at his pitching appearances during his junior year, but by the preseason of this past spring’s senior campaign, multiple scouts were coming to Santa Rosa just to watch him throw bullpen sessions at practice. By the latter end of his senior season, multiple head regional scouts from a handful of teams were present on the sideline or in the stands with radar guns.

Just two years ago, Jannicelli didn’t think he even had the skill to pitch in college — but his stock exploded after his junior season and the reality that he could be a draft pick out of high school quickly began to set in.

“That’s when it kind of hit me, but you kind of have to roll with it,” he said of the scouts. “You can’t take too much time to be in awe of it. It’s just the reality of my situation and I try to embrace it and understand that it’s a privilege that these people want to come watch me and have interest in me.”

Jannicelli was one of 322 draft-eligible prospects invited to the MLB draft combine in Arizona two weeks ago, another valuable info-gathering experience as he weighs his options. He didn’t participate in any workouts and instead spent several days interviewing with interested pro teams.

“It was really cool to be in an environment when you’re around some of the other best players in the country and understanding that you earned the right to be there and it’s an honor to be there and a lot of people don’t get to experience that, especially as a high school player,” he said. “I tried to take it all in as much as I could and just enjoy my time there and understand that it was an opportunity more than something to be nervous about.”

While his ranking would indicate that he could be taken in the fifth round, there remains a possibility that Jannicelli will not be selected in the draft next week — but that’s not due to lack of skill.

Historically, prospects coming out of high school have garnered more money than usually allotted for players in their draft position since they have other options and could increase their draft position, and potential signing pay, after college. Some pro teams may not select a high school player, even if highly rated, if it’s more money than they wish to spend on a draft pick who may opt to go college anyway.

But if Jannicelli is drafted, he’ll have around two weeks to make his decision: go pro or go to college. It’s a decision he’s still working through.

“I truly am 50-50,” he said. “I have to get a full grasp of what my opportunity at the professional level would look like, if it’s something that I view as more valuable than heading to college and having that college experience. I don’t know everything that I feel I need to know to make an educated decision at this point.”

“I’m going to do my due diligence on a decision like this,” he added. “It would be easier for me if this decision wasn’t so hard and it’s hard for the best reasons, because I have such a great option at UCSB and such a great option at the professional level. The fact that this decision is so difficult really points to how lucky I am to be in this position. … I’ve thought about it endlessly.”

The first three round of the MLB draft are scheduled for Sunday, with rounds four through 20 taking place Monday.

As for his draft day plans, Jannicelli will spend it with his family, waiting to see what his future may hold.

“Definitely going to be waiting by the phone and watching TV,” he said. “We’ll see what happens.”

You can reach Staff Writer Gus Morris at 707-304-9372 or gus.morris@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @JustGusPD.