Bishop Verot alums Aiden Knaak and Joey Lawson selected in MLB Draft

Bishop Verot alums Aiden Knaak (class of ’23) and Joey Lawson (class of ’26) are hoping to join an elite group of Vikings legends to find success at the professional level after being selected in the 2026 MLB Draft.

Bradley ShimelFORT MYERS, Fla. —

Dreams are turning into reality for a few baseball players with ties to Southwest Florida.

Earlier this month, eight athletes who have played along the Gulf Coast were selected in the 2026 MLB Draft, with two of them being alums of Bishop Verot High School.

Aiden Knaak, a 2023 graduate of Bishop Verot, went on to have a stellar career at Clemson University and was selected in the 5th round by the Milwaukee Brewers.

Later on, Class of 2026 alum Joey Lawson was selected in the 20th round by the Miami Marlins.

Lawson was initially committed to play baseball at North Carolina, but he ultimately decided to chase his dream when the opportunity came.

Now, these two alums will look to join quite a few notable names representing Bishop Verot on the biggest stage.

Bishop Verot alum & Marlins’ draft pick Joey Lawson said, “It means a ton. I mean, being put in the same conversations as [Blaze] Alexander, you know, obviously [Daniel] Vogelbach. He had an unbelievable MLB career. Being able to, after I’ve talked to him a bunch and got to know him, being able to be in the same group as them. And, you know, come from the same school and represent the school and hopefully work my way up to that level…It’s unbelievable, it’s a great feeling.”

Congratulations to Joey Lawson and Aiden Knaak on their incredible opportunities ahead! Knaak has not officially signed with the Brewers yet, and the deadline to do so is Monday at 5 p.m.

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